


Ophiuchus

by slashaholic666 (queerlybeloved777)



Series: Darkling [1]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Accidental Bonding, Accidental Marriage, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Dark, Anthony Goldstein/Pansy Parkinson (background), Astronomy, Blood Magic, Creature Draco Malfoy, Creature Fic, Creature Inheritance, Dark Culture & Customs, Dark Harry Potter, Dark Magic, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Forced Proximity, Hanukkah, Herbology, Jewish Character, Knights of Walpurgis, M/M, Magical religions, Mythical Beings & Creatures, Neutral Malfoys, Parseltongue Magic, Potions, Ron Weasley/Lavender Brown (background) - Freeform, Runes, Slow Burn, Study of Ancient Runes (Harry Potter), runic magic
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-09
Updated: 2019-01-29
Packaged: 2019-07-27 06:41:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 22
Words: 80,320
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16213556
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/queerlybeloved777/pseuds/slashaholic666
Summary: Harry's meeting with Snape after the Sectumsempra fight with Malfoy in sixth year takes a different turn, revealing a Dark core that Harry has been failing to repress. His fight with Malfoy mingled their blood, bonding the two together and Harry to the Malfoy's lineage of Darkness. Involves helpful talking snakes, an accidental marriage, serpent and wyvern crossbreeds, demisexuality, and the intersection of the Light and Dark communities.





	1. Mingling Blood

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Oath Breaker](https://archiveofourown.org/works/5309891) by [GoblinCatKC](https://archiveofourown.org/users/GoblinCatKC/pseuds/GoblinCatKC). 



> My apologies to Professor Flitwick, who is the Head of Ravenclaw in canon, but I went with Professor Sinistra in this story. I mean no offense to those who study the Brythonic or Brittonic languages, but the ‘old’ language used within the Dark community called Brythonic in the story actually makes use of Modern Welsh.
> 
> This is a Pro-Dark story inspired by the [Oath Breaker](http://archiveofourown.org/series/387988) series, but reading those fics is not necessary to understanding this one.
> 
> Beta’d by my friend [nocturnal-milk-dud](http://nocturnal-milk-dud.tumblr.com/) but not Brit picked. Spotify playlist for this series can be found [here](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4iAooN22tolM2dHDOm0TG7).

“Legilimens.”

Harry unconsciously tensed, muscle memory from his fifth year, as he felt the cool pressure behind his eyes narrow to a point above his left eye. This time he was allowing entrance and letting Snape pull the memories to the foreground, and he tried to remember to breathe calmly as flashes of action and emotion were projected above the stone Snape held outstretched in his right palm. It simply wasn't practical for everyone who needed to see his memories to try to use a pensieve right now, and while he could've explained some of the memories on his own, Dumbledore wanted the emotional memory to come through untainted by time or --

"Freak", Harry flinched at the sound of Uncle Vernon's hiss. He was about five and sitting in the Dursley's garden, whispering to a small black snake that it was nice to talk to someone. His stomach ached dully with hunger stretched too far between meals, and his loneliness was bubbling into something deep and angry.

"How many times have we told you not to do this?", Vernon's whisper was almost a hiss in his own anger, "You ungrateful -- We didn't take you in so you could talk to -- If the neighbors see you --"

Vernon's large hands were struggling to hold the snake still as it wriggled between his fingers, trying to escape. With a vicious shake and a small snap, the snake stopped moving. Vernon's smile fell away when Harry's small hand turned in a graceful swoop, his wrist popping in an echo of the snake's spine. The anger at yet another friend being stolen away from him felt cold and calming in his gut, and a voice pitched higher from youth hissed, " ** _Reborn_**."

The writhing snake, healed and very much alive, slid to the ground as Vernon recoiled. His voice was low and couldn't hide his disgust, "You should've died in the car accident with your parents."

The scenes bled into one another. He was standing in front of the python's enclosure at the zoo on Dudley's eleventh birthday, and the glass disappeared and -- He was sitting in front of the other first years with the Sorting Hat on his head muttering, "You would do well in Slytherin" -- The duel in second year where he talked to the summoned cobra, and the deep slide of the basilisk's voice in halls, "Rip - tear - kill", and the flash of the Slytherin common room after Polyjuice -- The tug behind his navel and the Triwizard Tournament cup fell from Cedric and his hands, and Cedric was falling in a flash of green, and the scene shimmered.

Harry was tied to Tom Marvolo Riddle Senior's headstone in the cemetery, and the knife was digging into his right forearm, and a newly risen Voldemort was instructing a Death Eater to let him down. The pain in his scar was lapping at his vision, and he felt the cool lick of calmness from a deep place within. He hissed as the Death Eater's touch jostled his bleeding arm, and a flash of gray darted from his lips; the man in the skeletal mask froze at the warning posture of the wispy snake, and Harry's back straightened as he pulled the feeling of coiling closer to himself. He was a snake ready to strike - and he _was_ a snake with fangs bared, slithering along the Ministry floor, and attacking Arthur Weasley. He was explaining his dream to Dumbledore, and he felt the strong urge to strike when he sensed that the older wizard was holding something back.

The archway in the Ministry room framed Sirius and Harry could hear Bellatrix laughing as the man fell back into silence. The place within felt black and ugly and boiling as Harry ran after the witch who killed his godfather, and he yelled the first thing that came to mind, "Crucio!", but she merely slowed down. Her laughter filled the atrium as she teased, "You have to want it", and he felt himself still. He wasn't uncontrollable and lashing out in blind anger this time, and it felt more like an icy cold that warmed him. His voice was quiet, almost gentle, as he repeated the Cruciatus, and black sparks were tingling his fingertips as Bellatrix's face froze in a wave of pain. A shimmer and he stood in Dumbledore's office, shaking in anger and grief, and he was smashing the spindly instruments from a table. Sirius was dead, and everything hurt, and he was laughing at a calm yet concerned face, "Why would I regret casting that Unforgivable? I wanted to hurt her, so I did."

Then Harry was opening the door to the bathroom, to a startled Draco Malfoy, and flashes of light were twirling around. A sink exploded, and Harry was bleeding from at least one cut on his hand, trying to gauge how fast he could hide behind a stall door when his adrenaline spiked. Malfoy's arm was raised and his lips curling around a Crucio, as the page from Harry's Potions text sprang to mind. _Sectumsempra - for enemies_. A small part of him hoping that he wasn't mispronouncing anything, Harry's hand flung forward, low and rolling his wrist like he was tossing a frisbee. A shadow sliced through the air landing squarely on Malfoy's chest, and Harry was running forward, hands pressed tight to the centermost diagonal slash. Malfoy's blood was running over his hands too quickly, too warm, and then Snape was there. Harry couldn't hear him over Moaning Myrtle yelling, but he was whispering and tracing the slash wounds with his wand. So much blood, too much blood.

Harry jumped when Snape returned with a dark scowl. He stared at blood swirling from his robes into the water on the tiled floor, quiet and honest with Snape's questions. He wasn't one hundred percent sure Malfoy was alive, and if he was going to face murder charges, it wouldn't help him to lie. To Harry's surprise, Snape kept his voice low and controlled.

"Were you trying to kill Mr. Malfoy?"

"No, sir. I didn't know what the spell would do."

"Do you know what spell you used, Potter?"

"Sectumsempra."

"Where did you find that spell? It's too Dark for Charms, and it's never been a part of the Defense curriculum."

"My Potions textbook has a bunch of spells the owner created in the margins."

"I'm afraid I don't have a choice in turning it over to the Headmaster, Potter. With the incidents this year involving cursed objects, we have to examine it."

Harry shrugged in the direction of his bag, which had fallen near the door at the start of the duel. He barely noticed Snape's Accio or the rustling of the bag Snape lowered the object into. The fact that Harry had been touching it for weeks didn't exactly rule out harm to anyone else. Harry slowly held his hands out in the water leaking from the exploded sink and rubbed. His palms were tingling, and though the blood appeared to wash away easily, it still felt like something was coating his hands.

"Professor…?"

Light gray shadows seemed to cling to his fingers. Snape sighed.

"Dark magic doesn't disintegrate at the same speed as Light magic. Unless you know how to cleanse, it builds up."

"It's coming out of the cuts?"

Snape inhaled, though it wasn't as loud or noticeable as a gasp, "You were touching Mr. Malfoy, were you not? His wounds?"

Harry nodded, and the older wizard grumbled, "You either absorbed some of the Dark residue, or managed to do accidental blood magic", a swish of robes and Snape's voice finally rose to his usual bite, "Of course, you would manage to stumble into one of our Darkest arts, Potter. Come, we will need to run some diagnostics."

A gentle prod from the throbbing point above Harry's left eye drew out another memory, a more recent one. Dumbledore and Snape were sitting at a table in the Room of Requirement. Dumbledore was holding a stone bowl filled with a pearlescent aqua potion, which Harry was trying to keep his hands submerged in. The tingling in his palms had grown to an irritable itch and then a dull burn, but the potion was numbing the reaction. Snape had drawn a vial of blood and was carefully adding drops to vials of potions in front of him with indistinct muttering and flicks of his wand. Harry didn't know if it was a good or bad sign when the potions reacted - a neon pink concoction bubbled and transformed to a pastel blue, something that looked like water turned silver, a deep purple liquid released a complicated swirl of gold vapors - but he figured it wouldn't do any good to ask questions and interrupt.

Finally, Snape glanced over to Dumbledore. His expression looked like a carefully cool mask, but he couldn't keep from grimacing as he nodded slightly. Dumbledore sighed and looked through his half-moon lenses to Harry, "I'm afraid you may not like some of these questions, my boy, but we have to ask them. If you do not answer honestly, we will have to look for the truth", a pause as Harry glanced at Snape then back, "I will search your memories as gently as possible, Harry."

Harry nodded and fidgeted, the nail of his index finger sliding over his thumb nail in a smooth worrying pattern. Dumbledore's voice was soft and calm, "Did someone give you that Potions book?"

"No, Professor. I found it in the back of Slughorn's cabinet of extra books."

"Why did you cast an unauthorized spell?"

"A what --"

"In this case", Dumbledore's eyebrows raised slightly in understanding, "An unauthorized spell means that it's not categorized in the Ministry's records, and therefore isn't officially taught. This isn’t a commonly known spell among your generation, in a manner of speaking."

"It was the first spell that popped in my head, I guess. Malfoy and I were caught up in the heat of --"

"Was it your own voice that suggested the spell?"

Harry carefully lifted his hands out of the stone bowl and set them on the table.

"Was there a texture, a sound, a quality that felt separate? Was it unfamiliar like the Imperius or --"

"It wasn't Voldemort, if that's what you're asking", Harry stared at his fingernails, "I haven't had a vision since Sirius died."

Snape's voice was quiet, "Potter, have you ever had shadows stick to you before?"

"May be?", Harry rubbed small circles into the palm of one hand with a thumb, "The shadows didn't feel weird or anything. If I hadn't been looking at the cuts, I probably wouldn't've noticed."

"The shadows are residual Dark magic", Dumbledore's brows were drawn together, "You should've felt something after doing Dark magic. It's generally not something one misses."

"I guess casting the Cruciatus counts", Harry hummed slightly in thought, trying to ignore the slight upward twitch of one of Snape's eyebrows, "May be that snake incident when I was little --"

"Harry", Dumbledore's still calm voice cut him off instantly, and Harry looked down at the stone in the man's palm, "This will be faster if I have a quick peek at the memory in question."

Harry glanced up into those clear blue eyes, and the memory of bringing back his friend played in front of his eyes. While he'd had more pressing concerns living the experience, there were murmurs as shadows twisted around his forearms and wrists, visible to an outsider looking back. Harry closed his eyes as the memory ended and stared down at the table in front of him in the vain hope that he could avoid more questions.

"It was a bit hard to decipher the translation of Parseltongue", Snape's voice was a tad rushed, "But I think I heard Potter say, 'Reborn'. It's not a common animal spell - mostly used on plants - and it's not in any of the traditional tongues, but it was clearly --"

"Accidental Dark magic", Dumbledore's voice was low with an undercurrent of concern as he finished the thought.

"Potter was raised with Muggles", Harry and Dumbledore glanced at Snape in the wake of the overwhelmingly obvious statement, and he cleared his throat slightly before continuing, "No one's taught him how to cleanse the residual Dark magic away."

"What do you mean --"

Dumbledore's question overrode Harry's hesitant one, "Does proximity to a Dark object leave residue?"

"You don't have anything to fear from the ring", Snape seemed to pick his words carefully, "The residue from residue has a half-life closer to Light magic."

Blue eyes peeking over spectacles with a sharp clarity, Harry avoided looking the Headmaster in the eye. Thankfully, that piercing gaze was for Snape, and Harry went back to carefully examining his fingernails - preemptively clipped short this morning, so he wouldn't bite at them. He had the distinct feeling the men before him were having some sort of nonverbal conversation, but Harry wasn't interested in drawing their attention. If he stayed still and didn't make any noise, the threat would pass. He could feel it with a level of certainty reserved for instinct, so he waited.

"Very well", Snape was quiet and trying to keep reluctance at bay, "Cleansing without residue does no harm to the body or magical core", Harry watched him organize the potions in front of him, "But it's not as simple as you think Albus."

"I am aware that last year's Occlumency lessons did not go as I planned", Dumbledore stared at the potions as well, "So I am not surprised at your reluctance to instruct Harry."

"Instruction is traditionally hereditary or family based, which brings us to this diagnostic check."

Harry and Dumbledore watched Snape place a drop of blood from an unmarked vial on a piece of parchment. It landed on the design, something deep green and twisting. He carefully took the vial with Harry's blood in it and siphoned off one drop to land on the parchment. The design glowed with a pale green light before the blood was replaced with a thin band of silver. Snape sighed, the first sign of his irritation peeking through. Dumbledore had a small smile and his eyes seemed to twinkle with slight amusement as he turned his gaze to Harry, "Are your hands still burning?"

"The potion hasn't quite worn off", Harry's tone clearly communicated that he didn't trust the ring. Dumbledore chuckled and pushed the parchment closer to him. Harry hoped it wasn't cursed as he slowly picked the thin band up, and he knew in his gut that it wasn't a good sign the burning stopped. He set it down slowly, winced as a fresh lick of pain made his fingers twitch involuntarily, and then picked the ring up again. He cleared his throat and gestured at the object sitting in his palm, "Do I have to wear it all the time to make the burning stop?"

"I'm afraid there's not much choice when it comes to these matters, Harry", Dumbledore was trying to be reassuring, but the younger wizard didn't quite buy it, "You'll have the most pain relief when the ring is worn."

Harry picked up the ring with his left hand and started to slide it on his fingers on his right. Harry didn't like how comfortably it slid off each finger, refusing to sit above his knuckle even with his hand clenched in a fist, and there was a sinking feeling in his gut when almost all of the fingers on his left hand got the same treatment. The ring was clearly enchanted to sit on one particular finger, and there was no way to avoid the digit left last unless a few new fingers suddenly sprouted. Harry could feel that his face was doing something as all three watched the ring twist down to a perfect size and the top of the band blossom into a small crest with intertwined snakes. A slight nudge didn't move the ring, and a hard pull didn't either.

Harry glanced at the parchment, but the Celtic knot didn't make a move to explain. He glanced up at Dumbledore through his eyelashes, hoping he wouldn't find that gentle pressure behind his eyes. He also hoped he didn't look as panicked as he was suddenly feeling, but Dumbledore's lips simply twitched up into a small smile. Those damn eyes twinkled, and Harry raised his head to look at Snape full on not wanting the congratulations that Dumbledore seemed about to give. He might've been raised with Muggles, but he wasn't oblivious enough to not know the left ring finger was reserved for engagement or wedding rings. Snape looked more irritated at guessing a correct conclusion than surprised, and Harry nervously settled his right hand over the offending finger. His voice came out a little louder and panicked than he'd planned on, "If this is someone's twisted idea of a joke, it's not fucking funny. That's - It can't be --"

Snape cleared his throat, and Harry's eyes tore to his inky black ones. While neither was pleased with the situation, Snape clearly didn't want to deal with a panic attack. He kept his voice low and even, "This isn't a joke, Potter. You've managed to wind up in an accidental betrothal."

Dumbledore's soothing voice took over, "It was clearly an accident, so you're not in trouble, Harry. We need to inform the other student involved, so it would be easier to give the full explanation to both of you. Do you understand?"

Harry's head was shaking slightly, "You don't just 'accidentally' marry someone. I haven't given anything to anyone or even touched --", he paused, staring at healed skin where cuts used to be on his hands before glancing up to Snape, "It was the fucking blood --"

The slight pressure withdrew, but Harry winced as he rubbed at the spot above his left eye, which was already starting to throb in time with his heart. No matter how gentle a Legilimens was or how he worked to keep his mind open, he always wound up with a headache after having someone else skip through his memories like this. Harry slowly opened his eyes and watched Snape pocket the stone. Neither spoke, waiting for the silent shock to break among the guests, Narcissa and Draco Malfoy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> While this is still a WIP, I have 22 chapters already written and for the most part ready (largely formatting and html stuff). I've included in the series notes that this is Part One and will cover the fall semester and winter break until the New Year. Right now, I think this will have about 30 chapters, but I'm not sure how I'll split up the break chapters just yet.


	2. Celtic Knot

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Later chapters mention the altered timeline, but the Sectumsempra fight has been adjusted from sometime in the spring (canon) to Halloween, and the poisoned mead and bezoar incident with Ron was moved up to being tied to a Halloween party held by Slughorn.
> 
> Formatting note: Dialogue that is italicized and bolded is **_Parseltongue_**.

"Accidental Dark magic", Narcissa whispered, shifting slightly in the chair before Snape's desk, "We usually only see that in Dark families due to the residual Darkness in the environment."

"The Headmaster would like Harry to receive some instruction", Snape glanced between Narcissa and Draco, and Harry could feel the unsaid question hanging in the office, "Professor Dumbledore would like to prevent any further accidents, particularly those of a Dark nature."

"It's not like I'm going to --", Harry's grumbling was cut off by Draco's surprisingly calm question, "What does that have to do with us?"

Snape and Narcissa shared a look before Snape pulled a piece of parchment from his top desk drawer. It was the Celtic knot twisting and turning in a deep emerald, though Harry couldn't tell if it was the same parchment he'd been tested with. Snape cleared his throat slightly, and Harry bit back a smile as he realized the normally stoic man was nervous. Fiddling slightly with the ring on his left hand, Harry ended the small glamour with a brush of his thumb. It wasn't like he needed to hide the evidence here, but he still kept his right hand splayed carefully over his left to keep the ring in shadows.

"The skeleton of our marriage vows is the sharing of blood", Snape softly cleared his throat again, "So that act alone can lead to…situations, even if we don't have that intent or a ceremony going on. Most people are careful to not bleed into another's wounds for this reason, but it takes more than a little drop to pass from one to another. Prolonged wound to wound contact is more often than not required."

"Just how long is prolonged?", Draco's jaw was set carefully as if he was trying to not shout in front of his mother. Harry crossed his arms, feeling overly aware of the tension in the room, and took to examining the grain of the wood in front of him.

"Long enough for Severus to appear in the bathroom", Narcissa was looking at her son with a hard to read expression, "This is certainly not how I thought your twilight would go."

"Twilight?"

Narcissa's gaze softened by a fraction when she looked at Harry, "It's a form of courtship quite helpful to those arranged to get married for getting to know each other."

Harry nodded and his gaze went back to the wood grain. He'd been trying to read about blood magic and marriage vows since meeting with Snape and Dumbledore, but it was surprisingly not easy to find in the Hogwarts library. Though he thought Hermione might know where to look among the sections, Harry hadn't wanted to explain why he was interested in the topic. The main thing he'd been able to pick up among the flowery prose about love and fate was that blood was stubborn. Unless either he or Draco died, the blood bond would start to grumble for an official ceremony and the steps that would keep the bond from warping or twisting into something feral. The cautionary notes had been vague about painful deaths, but Harry wasn't eager to find out what exactly happened with feral blood magic.

"But we didn't mean for this to happen. Surely that counts for something?"

Snape scowled at Draco, "I've already explained that it doesn't matter --"

"What about grounds for cutting the cord?"

Harry found himself slinking down in the chair slightly, out of his element with this topic. Draco was barely keeping his frustration in check, and now was not the time to draw attention to himself. The practically useless books in the library had barely given a mention to cutting the cord since they were written just long ago that it wasn't commonly done, but he knew it was rather similar to Muggle divorce. Despite the finality of the phrase, Harry wasn't sure he trusted the process to end blood magic. It was considered advanced magic for a reason, even if the Light side only dabbled in the art for marriage.

"You can't cut a courtship or engagement", Narcissa was quiet, "Those are supposed to be arranged without blood contracts, so they can be easily and mutually dissolved. You would have to complete the ceremony before cutting the cord becomes a possibility."

"But Father's been --"

"It doesn't matter what contracts he's been looking over", Narcissa kept her voice at an even volume better than her son could, "You've already entered into a blood contract, and blood magic trumps written contracts."

"Father will be furious that he's --"

"That's enough, Draco", Snape was rubbing idly at a spot between his brows like he was developing a headache, "Your father may be pushing for a potential wife, but he'd be more than willing to settle for a husband as long as you still produce an heir."

"He's the Boy Who Lived, _Harry Fucking Potter_!"

Snape and Narcissa looked at each other for a moment then glanced at Harry. The heel of his left palm was pressed into the spot above his eye, rubbing circles. The thin silver band was clearly visible to the Malfoy family sitting to his left, and Harry wondered if Snape had arranged their seating on purpose, so it'd be more uncomfortable and tense. He shrugged at the silent gaze of Snape, "I mean, he's not wrong. Probably would piss Voldemort off if he ever found out", he ignored the shivers at using the Dark Lord's name, "Malfoy would have a better chance of killing me than Voldemort's ever had. He'd probably get jealous."

Harry chuckled at the silence that no one else seemed to want to break as the seconds stretched out, "You lot clearly can't take a joke."

"The Dark Lord isn't a joking matter", Narcissa's voice was quiet and rather cold. He shrugged and stared at the jar above Snape's head. It was filled with a pale green potion that swirled itself in a small whirlpool. The jar above had a clear preserving potion with a small two headed snake inside. A glance at the gray-green scales with flecks of black along the sides and the slight collar of yellow, and he knew she was a grass snake, though he couldn't explain exactly how he knew. Her four eyes were glazed with a pale blue sheen, but they still seemed to flicker in the candlelight of the office. He carefully held the gaze, " _ **It's either joke or die, and dying's no fun**_ ", and a smile tugged at one corner of his mouth when smooth hissing slid under the words.

"Potter", Snape grumbled as he opened a drawer further down in his desk and removed a small octagonal bottle. He took a swig and pressed firmly at his headache's pulse point before turning back to the teenagers at hand, "Blood magic doesn't reign itself in naturally and we can't undo a half-finished job, so we need to consider finishing out with a ceremony", he held up his hands to cut off any protest, but Draco remained silent, "The main problem is how long we have to wait before a cutting ceremony can be done. Tradition dictates waiting a year and a day before dissolving a marriage."

"Severus", Narcissa glanced at Harry before continuing, "The Daily Prophet made a mountain troll out of a gnome when Mr. Potter hugged a friend during the Triwizard Tournament. I think our main problem is making sure the engagement and subsequent betrothal ceremony are kept out of the press."

"Wait", Harry fiddled with the ring, running his fingertips over the crest, "Are we married or just engaged? 'Cause I feel like this" - he gestured to the ring - "would be able to come off if we're engaged."

Narcissa kept her eyes on Draco, "Technically speaking, the blood contract means you're married. Officially, you need some twilight time while we make arrangements for the ceremony, so you'd abide by engagement rules."

Draco sighed and turned slightly away from his mother in the chair, scowling at one of the ingredient jars on Snape's shelves. Harry tapped his fingers on the arm of his chair, "We don't have to wait until a particular month to officially get married or anything, right?"

"What is the rush, Mr. Potter?", one of Narcissa's eyebrows had risen slightly. Harry pushed his glasses up, nervous, "It'd make sense to get this over with as soon as humanly possible, right? As long as legal guardians sign off on it, we should be able to get this done once the term ends…", he trailed off as Narcissa's eyebrows noticeably rose and Draco's eyes widened, turning to look at Harry in surprise. Harry glanced at Snape, and the other man rubbed between his eyes, "Muggle courts may accept sixteen as the age of consent, but wizards have to wait until eighteen."

"But we wouldn't be underage once we're seventeen?"

Snape took another drink from his headache relieving potion, "It has to do with Muggles becoming legal adults at eighteen and the Broomstick Marriage Act, which smoothed out wedding legalities between the Wizarding community and Muggles."

Harry ran his hand through his hair, "Muggles don't have anything to do with this, though. I mean, we couldn't even get married according to them."

"I'm afraid I don't follow?", Narcissa had a slight frown. Harry looked from her to Snape and back again, squinting slightly and trying to feel out if it was a trap. He ran his hand through his hair again nervously, "Muggles here don't legally recognize two guys together, anyways. We'd have to go to Denmark, Norway, Sweden, or --"

"While social attitudes may be more similar than not on the appropriateness of same sex relationships", Snape was pinching the bridge of his nose and paused briefly to take a large mouthful of his headache relieving potion, "Handfasting's roots in pre-Christian, gender irrelevant trysts meant that the Wizarding community had unintentionally already made same sex marriage legal. It was an archaic little footnote that very few paid attention to until the past century or so, but then it was too late to renege and follow the Muggles in legal terms. Did you even attempt to do research, Potter?"

Harry shifted in his chair and smoothed out a few wrinkles in his robes, "Hogwarts has a few books from the early 1900s with flowery prose about love instead of answering questions, but it's not like I can waltz down to the nearest public library, can I?"

"Your godfather left a Pureblood library to you."

Harry sighed and tugged at the ring, which still refused to move. He didn't want to talk about Sirius and he could feel in his gut that Snape knew that, "So, we have about two years to kill before getting divorced. What am I supposed to do until then?"

"Learn Dark magic", Snape looked over to Narcissa and Draco, "It makes the most sense for you to study under your familial lineage given the circumstances."

"He's not part of our lineage", Draco's voice was cold, "Especially if he's cutting the cord as soon as he can. That's just leeching our resources, and if Dumbledore put him up to it --"

"I'm not gonna rat on you guys", Harry tried to feel indignant but couldn't muster it up, "All Snape said was that I need to cleanse or whatever."

Snape cleared his throat, "I doubt that's all you need to know if you've had experience with accidental Dark magic in the past, but cleansing is an important starting point."

"Dark families and our magic have survived this long due to secrecy", Narcissa was looking at her son with another stern expression, "The initiation ceremony can certainly accommodate an oath to keep our secrets, even after you leave the family, if need be."

"But Mother --"

Narcissa turned to fully look at her son and spoke with a quiet finality, "The Dark Lord is doing more harm than good for the Dark community, and we need to prepare for what happens after he is gone. Having the wizard who played a role in defeating him in our --"

"Fine", Draco sighed and crossed his arms over his chest, tearing his gaze away from his mother to the rows of shelves and their ingredients, "But the vow of secrecy is nonnegotiable."

Narcissa turned back to look at Snape who was fiddling with a corner of the parchment on his desk and nodded. He held out his wand to Harry, "A fresh sample for anyone doubting the validity of the test", and Harry leaned forward to offer his left hand. A small nick on the tip of a finger, a drop of blood on the Celtic knot, and a murmured healing spell later, Draco also leaned forward. When his drop of blood landed in the midst of the emerald design, the paler green light lit up the outlines of the design and left a ring identical to Harry's in its place. Draco slid the ring on his left ring finger, jaw clenched yet silent while it readjusted to his size, and glared at Snape, "Is that all?"

At Snape's nod, he stood and quickly strode out of the room, and the echoes of his footsteps in the hallway sounded like he was heading in the direction of the Slytherin common room. Harry remained leaning forward with legs tensed to rise, but he didn't know if that was a signal that he needed to leave or not. He glanced at Snape then Narcissa before blurting out, "Dumbledore hasn't sent me on a fishing expedition. It's just an accident of fucked up proportions, really."

Snape swallowed another large mouthful of his headache reliever and returned the Celtic knot parchment to his top drawer, silent. Narcissa finished writing a note in a small leather bound notebook before returning it and the travel sized quill to her inner robe pockets. She turned slightly towards Harry, "I'm afraid there's not much one can do in the face of blood magic, and while Draco is used to fulfilling family arrangements, this was very out of the blue. Give it some time, and he will come around."

With a slight nod to him and then Snape, Narcissa rose from her chair. Her robes swirled around her feet, elegantly, as she left. Harry paused for a moment and then slowly and much less elegantly followed her out of the room, turning towards the Gryffindor Tower.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The goal is to update weekly - on Tuesdays - and a few holidays. Starting with the next chapter, there will also be a glossary of Brythonic words and phrases and any relevant created spells. I'm going to try to also provide sources (quotes and stuff), but it'll depend on if I kept good enough notes. You shouldn't have to check these outside sources for something in the story to make sense, but I'm justifying holding onto these links (mostly Wiki, as you do).


	3. Tawch (T)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Added to Characters: Hermione Granger  
> Added to Tags: Runes, Study of Ancient Runes (Harry Potter), Runic Magic

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Large rolling list for Brythonic and created spells added to end notes. Yes, it's currently taking up more space than necessary for this chapter, but I'm trying to get the brunt of the HTML in place for later (when it'll need to be longer than it is now).

"Harry?", Hermione's question sounded more like a tired statement than a proper question, and Harry shook his head slightly to try to return to her lecture. The formerly animated witch was supposed to be giving him a rundown on some sort of rune system because Dumbledore thought it would be helpful, but she was tucking a frizzy curl behind her ear to mask annoyance at this particular moment. Harry tried to muster up some guilt, but he'd started doodling in the notebook of Muggle paper before him for a reason. The fact that it was a kaleidoscope of that swirling rune in graphite didn't exactly help the tuning out. His apology was a mumble lost to her turning to a page in her textbook, "No, a history of the bríatharogaim is not the place to start. I should try to see if Madam Pince has one of the books from third year with a proper introduction."

Harry eyed the small tower of books that Hermione had built up around her side of the library table, but he didn't try to stop her from disappearing into the Runology section. He had been very clear that no amount of research would be able to undo - The Accident - that resulted in the glamour on his left ring finger, but Harry knew the desire to research something was tugging at his friend like a hard to scratch itch. So, while he had his doubts that the history of runes would be helpful in any capacity with Dumbledore, Harry was letting Hermione sink into the research and explanations without fuss. This was how she regained control and offered support as a friend, and he was rather relieved that she wasn't joining Ron in laughing at the ridiculousness of the whole situation. If Malfoy had accidentally bonded with anyone else, Harry probably could've taken the jokes with a little more stride, but it was better to let the redhead get the laughter out of his system in the Gryffindor Tower.

"How studious", Harry glanced to the side Malfoy had approached, not trusting the deep lilt out of habit. Granted, the Slytherin hadn't actually been sneering, but Harry trusted the other boy about as far as he could throw him. Malfoy may be slim, but he was taller than Harry, so the Gryffindor was quite sure he wouldn't be able to toss him a foot right now. Harry's pencil continued shading the runes in the margins of the draft of his Charms essay (the research currently pointed towards wand movement maps affecting mood-altering charms and their successful casting), and he hummed noncommittally, "Library's a bit quieter than the Tower these days."

Malfoy took the adjacent chair at the table and carefully set his bag on the floor. His eyebrow raised slightly at the sprawl of pens, pencils, and papers torn from the notebook, but he didn't comment as he pulled out a quill, bottle of ink, and notebook filled with parchment. He cleared his throat quietly before speaking in a library appropriate level, "I don't presume to know all of the classes you're taking this year, so it will help to start there. Dark content can be worked into the vast majority of classes offered, but we don't need to waste time on a topic you're not taking."

"I'm pretty much taking the standard NEWTs", Harry shifted his pencil and started in on a new rune, listening to the whispering scratch of Malfoy's quill, "Transfiguration with McGonagall, Defense with Snape, Herbology with Sprout, Charms with Flitwick, and Potions with Slughorn."

"It'd be best to wait for Mother to talk about poisonous plants and toadstools, but Herbology will help. Most of the offensive and defensive magic will fall under spells and incantations. It won't be any more strenuous than Charms and Defense. Any OWLs you didn't pursue a NEWT in?"

"Four. History of Magic - dozing off and getting a vision from Voldemort tanked my score. And then there's Care of Magical Creatures and Astronomy", Harry straightened the papers with quotes, citations, and draft outlines into a neat stack. It's not like it was a surprise that he didn't do well on that History of Magic exam, but he really hoped Malfoy wouldn't try to press the issue. Arguably, if he'd have paid attention to those boring questions and not reacted to the false vision, the Ministry fiasco would've never happened, and Harry had zero inclinations to argue about it. He pulled the extra pencils and pens into an evenly lined group as an afterthought. Surprisingly enough, there was a method to the madness, and defending that method was no higher on his to do list than talking about his godfather, particularly with Malfoy. Though it might've been a bit more unsettling that the blond didn't go for the low hanging fruit when he continued in that calm, quiet library voice, "You seemed to do well in Care of Magical Creatures, but I can't say I blame you. There's going to be a unit on dragons, and rumor has it that Hagrid is trying to get one of the quote unquote small, safe breeds to visit for a while."

Harry couldn't stop the sharp glance to that notebook of parchment and the spark of concern in his gut. Hagrid wasn't exactly the best person to determine what a small or safe breed of dragon would be, considering Norbert way back in first year and the dragons brought in for the Triwizard Tournament. A horse sized fire-breathing dragon could fit that description relative to other breeds after all. He glanced away from the pale fingers twirling a slim, short dark quill in Malfoy's left hand - eyes drawn to the glamour hidden ring - and the neat cursive that was smaller than expected. Harry had the vague feeling he should try to stick up for Hagrid, but he knew there were limits to his ability to bend the truth. If he'd have taken the NEWT class and found out about dragons with Hagrid, he probably would've asked about dropping. Gryffindors weren't necessarily brave all the time.

"Fair number of students drop Astronomy unless it's necessary for their intended career", Malfoy soldiered on in making small talk, and Harry tried to keep more of his attention on it than on his Charms homework, "I kept with it, so we'll have to keep in mind those night classes."

"Didn't think you'd go for an Astronomy career."

"Well, Astronomy can be very useful in some elements of advanced Potions making, but I actually happen to enjoy the topic by itself", Harry kept his face carefully neutral at the admission. On some level, he knew that Malfoy had to have likes and dislikes, some humanity as it were, but he'd never entertained the thought of what those might be. He inclined his head briefly in acknowledgement, "Professor Sinistra does have an infectious enthusiasm, but I needed to have my evenings free for - lessons with Dumbledore."

Malfoy hummed quietly and gave his quill another twirl, "Didn't you take another OWL?"

"We really don't need to dredge up Divination, do we?", Harry sighed. It was a relatively easy class to muddle a passing grade through, and it was especially favored by students who didn't want to take the opposing class in that time block, Arithmancy. The only downside was the skepticism from the majority of wizards and witches about the validity of divination.

"Despite the stigma of being a hearth science, there are some divination methods that can be useful when planning attacks", Harry turned towards Malfoy slightly to gauge that he was indeed not bullshitting that remarkably civil response. Harry himself frowned, "I got a P. Divination and I don't see eye to eye."

"What kind of divination?"

"I think there was palmistry on the OWL? Some crystal ball gazing, and the tea wasn't half bad, but trying to pick out shapes in the dregs was more silly than useful. Ironically, the only dreams I could remember around that time were visions from Voldemort, but that's definitely not something you put down in a dream journal."

Malfoy seemed to nod to himself, "Methods that call on your own self-generated symbolism clearly didn't work, but there's more than one way to skin a dragon. I'm sure Mother would have a better idea of whether you have a talent in this area."

"I couldn't even create a simple birth chart when we got around to astrology. It was just lines", Harry tried to keep himself from grumbling, but it still confused him that Ron actually did better on that unit. His friend didn't even try in that class, and yet, he did spectacularly in that section.

"More like triangles, Potter", the gentlest jibe Malfoy had ever sent his way made something loosen in Harry's chest. Sparring was far more familiar ground, "I didn't take trigonometry. I came to Hogwarts."

"To be fair, Arithmancy does cover trig. How else would we configure pyramidal equations?"

Harry shook his head at the clear diversion tactic, honed from years of listening to Hermione divert Ron, "Well, excuse me if Muggle maths didn't prepare me for trines and opposition descendant whatever."

"Astrocartographers spend years perfecting their Astronomy and Arithmancy skills before they can draw up a perfect natal chart on the first attempt", Malfoy almost sounded like he was giving Harry a way to gracefully bow out of astrological birth charts. Almost.

"Good for them. I'm still shitty at Divination."

"You may be compatible with a method not covered in class."

Harry's eyes narrowed, and he tapped his pencil against his notebook, thrown off by the suggestion of competence but not wanting to show it, "I didn't try to retake the OWL, so I could specifically avoid reading tarot or other cards this year."

"Using someone else's symbolism may not be a bad idea, but I was thinking along the lines of osteomancy, reading bones, or the related cleromancy, using dice or small bones like knuckles or teeth."

The familiar quirk of lips and amusement were tempered like Malfoy was holding himself back, and Harry wasn't sure he was ready for that. This was a damn fast change, and he threw the disbelief into his bait, "Bones or teeth? You're joking, right?"

"Would you prefer reading entrails? I hear it's negligible whether you use animals or humans."

Harry scoffed at the light and playful tone. There was the arsehole he knew, and his relief dampened the sharpness of his reply, "Fuck you."

"Sex magic is a completely different cauldron of flobberworms, Potter."

Harry paused in continuing with the banter as a small tower of books appeared at the end of the closest aisle. Hermione had apparently found some books she deemed useful and returned, just able to see around the stack, as she sank into her seat and redistributed the books into smaller stacks. She handed a surprisingly thin book to Harry before continuing to sort, " _The Visual Guide to Runology_ is the best for visual comparisons. I suspect that's more important for Dumbledore than getting caught up in the comparative history."

Harry glanced at Malfoy before setting the book off to his right and staring at the fortress of books on Hermione's side of the table, "Er, thanks, Mione."

Malfoy's gaze swept across the books, "I believe this week's homework only deals with the Bríatharogam Morainn mac Moín from the _Auraicept na n-Éces_ ", gray eyes flitted towards green, "which is a singular book."

Harry couldn't stop the small smile, but he did successfully keep a chuckle from escaping. Malfoy's light teasing was damn strange for how friendly it seemed, and it kept unsettling Harry from their usual conversation track. They were supposed to throw barbs and rile each other up, and this felt like the exact opposite. Thankfully, Malfoy would always be sarcastic, or Harry might have to slap someone for cursing the boy beyond all hope of normalcy. Hermione took a deep breath and kept her eyes on the book she was opening, "Apparently, Professor Dumbledore thinks Harry should be able to differentiate between rune systems, and he needs to start somewhere to make up for two years without the class."

"I'm not sure I need to cover everything from Ancient Runes", Harry fidgeted with the red pen in the line of writing utensils, "And no, Hermione, I'm not auditing the class. Who audits at NEWT level when they haven't even taken the OWL?"

"The Headmaster could grant permission for you to attend certain classes", Malfoy's voice was business-like in its neutrality, "Particularly if he thinks you would benefit from select lessons that may not be adequately studied on your own."

"How do you know --", Harry's question was cut off by Hermione's, "Malfoy, why are you here?"

A smirk tugged at the corner of his lips and smoky gray eyes glittered in amusement as the Slytherin in question looked to Harry. One hand swept his blond almost white hair from his face, and the other twirled his quill. He glanced down to his left hand, which was still glamoured ring free, and then to Harry's identical glamour, "Potter, how much did you tell Granger?"

Harry couldn't help but run his thumb over the crest of the hidden ring as Hermione answered in her slow, still trying to put the pieces together voice, "Harry used one of the unauthorized spells the Half-Blood Prince created in a fight with you, and the two of you are now accidentally blood bound. In the fight against Voldemort, Harry may be exposed to Dark magic, so he supposedly needs to learn some basics - I presume defensive work like shields."

"You're taking this remarkably well, Granger", Malfoy nodded to her. Hermione was frowning like she was working on a complicated Arithmancy problem, and her fingers were running over the forgotten page of her book in thought, "I must admit that I'm not sure why you, specifically, have to be the teacher. Surely there are others --"

Malfoy's chuckle was surprisingly deep but nowhere near happy or amused, "Being Muggle-born certainly helps to reduce the bias against the Dark community and its families. I'm afraid it's very unlikely for anyone else to come forward to teach Harry because we prefer to keep our knowledge within the family, so to speak", he glanced down at the ring as he briefly ended the glamour, "Whether we like it or not, Harry is family now, so we can't shirk our duty by passing lessons off to someone else. You can't deny blood."

Hermione glanced to the nearest aisle and back, "There's not much in the library about blood magic or bonding ceremonies."

Malfoy waved one hand dismissively, "You lot only use blood magic in bonding ceremonies, and no one really cares about the magical theory behind betrothal when it could interfere with love and choosing a spouse."

"'You lot'?", Hermione bristled at the phrasing, but Malfoy barely glanced at her, keeping his attention on his notebook, "The Light community, Helion, Hels. You lot that seem to forget that arranged marriages used to be far more common. Take your pick."

Irritation slowly ebbed away, and Hermione rolled her shoulders with a sigh. Malfoy set his quill down as he glanced over to Harry, having decided that Hermione was momentarily satisfied in her questions, and chose his words carefully, "Did you give Weasley the same explanation?"

Harry nodded, "Basically, yeah. He was focused on the accidental marriage bit, so I didn't really specify you were teaching me Dark magic."

"I bet the Weasel found it fucking hilarious", Malfoy scoffed and folded his hands together on his notebook. His jaw clenched and slowly relaxed before he spoke, trying to keep a bite out of his tone, "Weasel's whole family is made up of Hels, always has been. You may not want to tell him about learning Dark magic."

"He's my friend", Harry's own jaw clenched as he tried to not snap, "I can't _not_ tell him. It'd be worse for him to find out I hid that from him."

"We're the boogeymen in the shadows, if you will. Helion are raised with stories about us kidnapping children, eating babies, hellbent on killing all the Light in the world, or something. We were the ones stoned, hanged, and drowned in the witch hunts in greater numbers than them. We all carry memories of ancestors being mobbed by Muggles and killed, not dissimilar to Hels mobbing us and wanting to wipe us out. They don't mind that we were driven underground and have to remain silent", Malfoy took a deep breath, "The most Weasel could do is turn against you, Potter, and condemn you with the Dark community. One stray hex and he'll call for your head with all the others. The least he could do is give you the silent treatment and a cold shoulder until the Dark Lord is defeated."

"Thanks for the warning", Harry's voice was low and steady, "But I think I'll let Ron make his own decisions about this."

"Don't worry, Potter", Malfoy returned to a light tease and one hand swept his hair back, "The Tawch will probably accept you."

"The what?"

Malfoy's left hand drew the closest paper torn from Harry's notebook closer, and the quill slid easily into his right hand this time, the neat cursive slightly larger than when written with his left hand, "Tawch. The Dark community has its own name for itself, you know. A Dark wix is a Llywdnos, and Dark wixen are Gwyllon."

Harry felt a curious shiver somewhere near his stomach as he rolled the strange words around on his tongue, and he couldn't maintain eye contact with Malfoy. The other boy's humor had a bite to it that was easier to swallow than Harry knew how to react to, and he glanced to the book Hermione had given to him on his right, trying to evade the spark of amusement turned towards him. Harry ran a finger down the book's spine and hoped he didn't sound too obvious in changing the topic, "Is it possible Professor Dumbledore wants me to recognize rune systems because the Dark community uses a particular one?"

"More perceptive than I thought", Malfoy whispered more to himself than to the Gryffindors present, "We tend to use the futhorc in our magic, though I do know some families prefer to keep to the Elder Futhark. Some children on the continent tend to prefer the Younger Futhark, but I suspect that has more to do with having fewer runes."

Hermione's brow was furrowed in slight puzzlement, "Using runes in magic? We've never covered that in Ancient Runes."

"Hels prefer to translate words and favor the Ogham", Malfoy clucked his tongue at Hermione's confusion, "When did we go over the rune poems, whether Old English, Norwegian, or Icelandic?"

"What do poems have to do with this?"

Malfoy set his quill down in the open pages of his notebook and held out his hand, " _The Visual Guide to Runology_ , if you please", and after Harry handed him the slim book, he thumbed it open, "Take Feoh, transliterated as 'f'. It means wealth, but someone had to come up with a way to remember this and teach others. In Old Norse, a short saying - 'Wealth is a source of discord among kinsmen; the wolf lives in the forest'. In Old Icelandic - 'Source of discord among kinsmen and fire of the sea and path of the serpent'. The Anglo --"

"We covered meanings in fourth year", Hermione's words were a little clipped, and Harry had the sneaking suspicion that she disliked sitting through a small lecture on a topic she thought she knew about. He reminded himself that Gryffindors have to bite the bullet sometimes and interrupted what very well could devolve into combatting lectures between his friend and Malfoy, "But I didn't cover meanings in fourth year."

Hermione's jaw clenched, but she remained silent, as Malfoy thumbed further into the book with a smug expression barely contained, "The Anglo-Saxon rune poem gets a bit wordier. Take Is, transliterated as 'i', or ice. 'Ice is really cold, measurelessly slippery | glistening clear as glass, most like gemstones | a floor created by frost, fair to look upon'", his expression had relaxed under recitation, "From a magical standpoint, you could use Is when you want to slip out of a situation, when you want a situation to reveal itself clear as glass, or to freeze something in its tracks just based on this rune poem. Once you add in extraneous oral teachings and personal associations, just this one line can pack a punch."

Harry looked from Hermione, jaw twitching yet silent, to Malfoy, a small smile begging for a challenge, and back. He couldn't deny that expanding on the meanings did seem very useful for pointers in using the runes in magic, but he also knew better than to say this out loud right now. Hermione was still fighting an intellectual battle, and until she admitted defeat, it wasn't safe to take the challenger's side. Harry took the offered book from Malfoy, closed it gently, and set it on the table in front of him, between him and Hermione. She could safely glare at it until the battle ended this way. Harry glanced over to the Slytherin and took in his relaxed pose, arms crossed in front of his chest, and got a glimpse of the academic battle Malfoy had been waging with Hermione since first year. Harry shook his head slightly to dislodge the opinion that both students would've done well in Ravenclaw and fiddled with his pencil, "So. Runes."

Malfoy uncrossed his arms and seemed to come back to himself from the small moment of inner-gloating. He pulled a slim notebook from his bag and slid it across the table to Harry. Harry thumbed through pages of Malfoy's neat cursive and sketches of runes, while Malfoy twirled his quill between his fingers and spoke quickly with the slightest note of uncertainty, "Most children learn their rune meanings orally, but I thought it'd be easier for you to work on memorization on your own", he cleared his throat and forced himself to slow down, "I don't know if you'd be up for a weekly quiz, but it'll be rather slow going if we try to jump into magical uses before you can correctly match meaning and the correct form to a rune name. Practice tracing the runes, and remember to keep straight edges and corners. You should be able to carve any of these into your skin if need be."

Malfoy's voice was an intense whisper by the end, and Harry couldn't bring himself to break the silence after such a calmly delivered statement. He nodded and tucked the notebook into his bag before turning back to the table. Hermione had admitted defeat in the intellectual battle, having relaxed her glare at the offensive visual guide and returned to her Ancient Runes homework, and she nodded towards the book between them, " _The Visual Guide_ will still help. Mind the section on the Younger Futhark. There are three variations - long-branch, short-twig, and staveless. The long-branch runes will match up with the futhorc."

"It'd be helpful to sit in on a class or two and see how Hels approach Runology, but I can't see more than the days allotted for the futharks and futhorc", Malfoy was still mostly facing Harry, but his smoky eyes were glancing in the direction of Hermione. She paused in taking a note and stared at the Slytherin for a brief moment before nodding, "Given your history with Harry, it may go over better if I consult with Professor Babbling. The futharks and futhorc are slated for the last class in November, so we still have almost a full month for her to change her mind."

The soft scratch of Malfoy's quill moving across the notebook's parchment ceased, and he nodded slightly at the note he'd taken before looking up through pale lashes to Harry, "Alright. We're both free Tuesdays and Thursdays in the block before dinner. Meeting then will leave you time after dinner for the rest of your homework. Two days isn't very much time to work on memorization, so I'm tentatively scheduling your first rune quiz next week. We should probably tackle the history between the Helion and Tawch next."

Hermione cleared her throat and promptly launched into her question, "While I understand the exclusive nature of oral and hereditary traditions, would I be able to sit in on the history?"

"Well, since you're going to scurry off to try to research the topic before Thursday anyways, and I know you're going to run into more misinformation than truth, it'll be easier in the long run", Malfoy sounded a bit uncertain despite his long justification, "I make no guarantees about sitting in on other lessons. We really do prefer to keep oral information within the family."

"Hey family", Harry paused to let Hermione and Malfoy twitch slightly under the weight of the word, feeling the undercurrent of tension that had seeped into the conversation work itself out, "Where are we meeting? I'm fairly certain you don't want to divulge family secrets in the library."

"The Room of Requirement will have the best privacy", Hermione answered quickly and simply, her focus was already returning to homework. Harry glanced to Malfoy, and they both quietly nodded their agreement. Malfoy closed his notebook and carefully returned it, his quill, and the ink bottle to his bag before standing, keeping the squeal of the chair legs against the floor to a minimum. He slung the strap over his shoulder and strode away confidently like this Slytherin chatted with these Gryffindors every day, and Harry let his fingers brush over the ring while watching the retreating back. Drastic truces call for surprising adventures.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Source](http://www.sunnyway.com/runes/rune_poems.html) for Old Norse and Icelandic rune poems given. Most of the [source](https://anglosaxonpoetry.camden.rutgers.edu/the-rune-poem/) for the Anglo-Saxon rune poem ('fair to look upon' taken from first source). 
> 
> Some of these unfamiliar words are not Brythonic, and if you haven't wandered in the Ogham category of Wiki, may not be recognizable. [Bríatharogaim](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Br%C3%ADatharogam) are kennings that explain the meanings of the names of the letters of the [Ogham](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ogham) alphabet [for Archaic + Old Irish], and the Bríatharogam Morainn mac Moín is one of these kenning lists, which can be found in the [Auraicept na n-Éces](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Auraicept_na_n-%C3%89ces).


	4. Nyd (Th)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Added to Characters: Original Non-Human Character(s)  
> Added to Tags: Knights of Walpurgis, Mythical Beings & Creatures

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope readers have a Happy Hallowe'en, Samhain, Nos Galan Gaeaf, etc.
> 
> Minor note that the chapter amount has been updated from a blank [?] to the currently written amount (22).

Harry was sitting at the large circular desk in the Room of Requirement a good half hour before Malfoy had agreed to meet. The dark almost black wood of the table matched the chairs with comfortable gray cushions, and there wasn't much more to the room than torches in sconces along the walls. He hadn't wanted distractions while pacing in the hallway. Hermione and Malfoy were still in Ancient Runes, and from what Harry could vaguely remember of the excited chatter at lunch, Professor Babbling had already agreed to let him stop by for the futharks and futhorc lesson. Hermione had been too busy tying her flyaway hair back to dig out the syllabus, but she'd been sure that there was only going to be one lesson. Harry gently thumbed through the pages of _Malfoy's Runology_ , as he'd briefly taken to calling the slim notebook, and he was privately unconvinced that anyone could get through all of these runes in one lesson. He stopped on one page, tracing the angle of the intersecting line of Nyd, and whispered to himself, "Trouble is oppressive to the heart; yet often it proves a source of help and salvation to the children of men, to everyone who heeds it betimes."

A gentle hiss came from the direction of Harry's trainers, but he couldn't quite see the snake that spoke from the shadows under the table, " _ **Nyd - hardship, trouble, distress, angst, need. What do you need, Seeker?**_"

"Er", Harry blinked a few times while trying to prod his brain into action, "Dunno. I'm just waiting for a history lesson of sorts."

The slide of scales against wood heralded the ascent of the small brown, almost black snake. It was climbing the nearest table leg and slowly approached Harry's section of the large table with a wary little shake of the head. It paused just outside of his reach and gazed up at him with its pale brown eyes, " _ **I am Ouroboros. I know a thing or two about history, Seeker.**_ "

"Oh", Harry closed Malfoy's slim notebook and tried to not fidget with the page of his Muggle notebook, open and waiting for notes. He carefully lined up the pencil and blue pen before picking up the pencil, tapping the eraser against the table for a few heartbeats. A glance to his watch then to the door, and Harry found himself staring into the pale eyes of the rather twig-like snake and trying not to sound apologetic, " _ **See, Malfoy has a particular history lesson in mind. I wouldn't be surprised if you did know some stuff about history, but I'm not sure…**_ ", he trailed off, a little embarrassed to be thinking of how best to tell such an intelligent seeming snake that he didn't want to seem crazy. The snake cocked its head, looking surprisingly thoughtful, " _ **You do not want to disappoint Mate.**_ "

" _ **M-Mate?**_ ", Harry followed the flick of the snake's tongue to his left ring finger, " _ **I guess that would make him my mate, in a sense.**_ "

The snake's throaty hiss almost sounded like a chuckle, but it left that line of conversation alone. A small white platter appeared, and it curled around the edge looking like a hyper realistic decoration. Its small body shook as it twisted and heaved, objects falling from its mouth - a small shower of wheat with their bristly heads and soft protected kernels. The snake spoke quietly, " _ **I am Ouroboros. I saw the first harvest, and I shall hold witness to the last. The Tawch and the Helion were once one magical group, caring for the shrines of the Ancients and helping those without magic. Push the seasons forward, pull the harvest from the ground, give your blood, take the blood of the animals. Until Nyd - a famine.**_ "

Harry watched silently as the snake swished its tail to hide the wheat from view, " _ **The Ancients wanted willing blood, and the Helion refused to listen. They started turning their backs on the ponds, wells, sacred groves, and left the forests. The Tawch were not happy, but they listened and gave First Sacrifice to the earth. She was the willing blood that stopped the famine, but the Helion never forgave**_ ", the snake paused to let deep red drops of blood fall from its mouth onto the porcelain and stirred a few heads of wheat into the bright mess with its tail, " _ **Helion forgot the Ancients, forgot the magic in blood. They separate themselves from Darkness and call the shadows betrayal. The Tawch listen to blood, and try to remember in their own way.**_ "

The small snake turned its gaze to Harry, and he couldn't help but nod at the story. While it was sparse in details, there was an intensity and importance to what had been revealed. He swallowed nervously as the snake slid off the platter and meandered closer. Its body twisted ever so slightly and a few blossoms fell from its mouth, small white whirls, before it tasted the air above his left arm, " _ **Remember basil's lesson, Seeker. She will help you find dignity and courage when facing death.**_ "

"Harry?", Hermione's voice carried through the room and broke the heavy spell of Ouroboros' reminder, and the snake in question disappeared with the platter as she strode through the door, leaving it open for Malfoy and Snape to follow through, "Were you talking to someone?"

Harry glanced down at the basil blossoms near his hand and shrugged, "Just a small snake interested in a chat."

Hermione settled down to Harry's left and didn't question the flowers as she pulled a spare scroll of parchment and self-inking quill from her bag. She relaxed into a note-taking position with studious ease, and Malfoy slid into the chair opposite Harry. The slight clench of his jaw was the only tell that he wasn't as calm as he looked, and Harry found himself glancing at Snape along with Malfoy. The older wizard had chosen a seat to Malfoy's left and looked almost bored with the situation. One of Snape's eyebrows rose slightly as he took in the pencil and Muggle notebook, "Taking notes, Potter? What initiative."

"Just my luck, Malfoy will decide to do a pop quiz if I don't", Harry rolled the pencil between his fingers, waiting for Malfoy to begin. His words hadn't held a bite, but the blonde's eyes darted away quickly like he was being called out for something unpleasant. Snape smirked as he turned to look at Malfoy but held back whatever he found amusing. Malfoy cleared his throat and kept his eyes on his hands that were carefully folded before him on the dark wood of the table, "So. We should probably start with what you may have already tried to find out and get those preconceptions out of the way."

"Well, according to Cotton's --", Harry cut across Hermione but kept his volume low, "The Helion and Tawch split over differences in handling a famine way back. Someone had to sacrifice themself, and the Tawch were viewed as betrayers for being able to do it. Apparently, human sacrifice was a touchy subject."

Hermione was frowning in Harry's direction, but he kept his eyes on Malfoy and Snape. Both of Snape's eyebrows had risen, but he was carefully keeping other signs of surprise hidden. Malfoy's head had angled slightly, and he was returning Harry's stare with a thoughtful expression. Harry had the distinct feeling that nothing of the sort had ever been written down, particularly in one of the books that would've wound up in Hogwarts' library, because it was the bare bones of the truth. Which meant that snake - Ouroboros - had been telling Harry the truth, and he looked down at the basil blossoms, trying to keep himself from shuddering. Dignity and courage in facing death, talk of human sacrifice, the unspoken weight of the prophecy concerning Voldemort - it was downright creepy all of a sudden.

"Blunt, as usual", Snape glanced at the basil blossoms as well before looking to Malfoy, "But, more or less correct. The crux of the matter came down to disowning the wixen involved in the human sacrifice necessary to end the famine. Those who thought it should not have happened fashioned themselves to be the Light community and started the task of killing and driving the Tawch underground."

"Where did you read that?", Hermione tried to whisper only to Harry, but her displeasure at being showed up by not finding the appropriate book got in the way. Harry shrugged at her hiss, "A little snake told me."

He watched a brief ripple of surprise dash across Malfoy's face before he caught hold of himself, and Snape kept his face neutral in a manner befitting a double agent. Harry ran a hand through his hair, trying to brush away the irritation at Hermione's follow up question, "What do you mean --", that was cut off by Snape, "Well, this may not drag on as long as I feared. I'm sure Draco can fill in intervening particulars at a later date, but my presence was requested to address the alignment, however temporary, of the Knights of Walpurgis with Voldemort and his Death Eaters."

The scratch of Hermione's quill paused, "The Knights of what, Professor?"

"Walpurgis", Snape paused in the habit of a teacher used to waiting for students to catch up, "They're analogous to the Order of the Phoenix for the Tawch. Because Voldemort presented a strong anti-Ministry, anti-Helion message, it wasn't exactly difficult to recruit among the Knights for the First War."

Malfoy and Snape’s eyes met for a moment, and Harry got the feeling that the younger wizard had lost the unspoken battle. The younger Slytherin straightened the cuff of his shirt a bit apprehensively, and he continued the explanation quietly, "Gwyllon look out for their own, and Voldemort alienated a lot of Knights in his return to power. Torturing and killing fellow Purebloods makes some uneasy already, but going after fellow Gwyllon - it's not something we can condone."

"A mass exodus would lead to unwelcome questions and further reduce the Tawch, so no, they aren't all going to leave Voldemort's side", Snape glanced in the direction of the Gryffindors, "However, the Knights aren't synonymous with Death Eaters and will put their duties as Knights before whatever Voldemort asks. Gwyllon aren't synonymous with Death Eaters either, and when push comes to shove, a Llwydnos will act in accordance with continuing the Tawch."

"Sounds a bit like Dark wixen are fair weather friends", Hermione's voice was cool despite the open potential for judgement, "Why bother rallying around Voldemort as the Dark Lord then?"

"A Dark Lord leads the charge against Helion, whether they focus on the Ministry or not", Snape's response came quickly and equally lacking in heat, "In a sense, any leader could be referred to as a Dark Lord if the group so desired. Voldemort is not the first nor will he be the last Dark Lord."

Hermione made a noncommittal noise, and her quill scratched away at the parchment for a moment or two. Harry continued to roll the pencil between his fingers, twirling it slowly in thought and trying to ignore his still empty page of notebook paper, "That means the showdown with Voldemort is a small battle, or skirmish if you will. All this prophecy and Chosen One crap would've been less stressful if Dumbledore would've said that."

"Harry."

Harry glanced to Hermione's hard-to-read expression and shrugged. She could be irritated all she wanted, but it was a small relief to know that the Second War with Voldemort wasn't an all-encompassing war to end all wars between the Light and the Dark, which now that he thought about it fit the impression he'd been given over the years. Harry tucked the pencil behind his right ear and carefully picked up the basil blossoms without crushing them, "Makes some of this a little less personal in the long run, Mione", he paused and avoided looking Malfoy in the eye, "Not that it hasn't felt personal in the short term, but the past can't be changed."

"If this is about Aunt Bella --", Harry glanced up sharply to Malfoy, and whether it was the look itself or looking over the top of his glasses, the boy cut himself off. Harry pushed his glasses up and enunciated clearly to keep his reply from devolving into a mumble, "I reckon I could eventually be civil if certain people stopped trying to torture or kill me because the Dark Lord said so. Y'know, Lucius, for example."

"My father didn't --", a sudden sharpness from Malfoy overridden by a warning from Snape, "Draco", and the overlaid admonishment from Hermione, "Harry!", hit Harry's ears in rapid succession.

"So, I wasn't supposed to point out that someone's been present the last two times Voldemort was in the vicinity and wanted to torture or try to kill me?", Harry purposefully kept his tone light and innocent, widening his eyes slightly at Hermione. Her brown eyes held firm in their warning to tread lightly, but Harry pushed on, "I mean, as long as he was acting in accordance with continuing the Tawch, _it wasn't personal or anything_."

"We didn't gather here for an impromptu therapy session", Snape lacked his usual scowl and irritation, and he stared Malfoy down until the boy bit back a reply and let a neutral curtain fall across his face before continuing, "Individual members of the Tawch have certainly given you reason to not trust the community immediately and without question, but we can only go forward."

Harry tossed the small white blossoms onto the table, untucked the pencil from his ear, and dropped it into his bag with a hum. He flipped the untouched notebook in front of him closed and slid it and _Malfoy's Runology_ into his bag. He could feel Hermione's expectant gaze boring into his messy black hair, since his scalp was what was prickling with tension, but Harry loosened his red and gold tie silently. She'd already commented on the fickleness of the Knights of Walpurgis, so he didn't really think there was anything else that could be said when he wasn't willing to apologize for pointing out the elephant in the room. He crossed his arms and stared at the Slytherin in front of him, who didn't seem entirely aware that he was readjusting his tie into a still perfect knot, "Are we done here?"

Snape pushed his chair back from the table with a barely perceptible nod, and he departed in a swirl of black robes. Malfoy glanced to Hermione, who was still writing something on her scroll, and seemed to be about to say something to her. His eyes flitted to Harry and his mouth closed into a blank line. Harry grabbed his bag and shoved away from the table, not really caring that the chair groaned against the stone floor, and he quickly walked to the door. Dinner had barely started, but he was starving and hoping to avoid any probing questions from Hermione while others were around. Harry hadn't really foreseen the devolution of the conversation from relevant history questions into a surprising outburst about Lucius, and he didn't want to have to admit that he hadn't planned on bringing the topic up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Nyd quote comes from [Naudiz](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naudiz) wiki page. [Source](http://nefaeriaofetsy.blogspot.com/2008/08/herbs-of-deceased.html) for basil associations.


	5. Draconis (M)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Added to Characters: Aurora Sinistra  
> Added to Tags: Astronomy, Forced Proximity

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My heart is absurdly fond of connecting hand drafting and Astronomy, hence the talk of cross-hatching and the like. Amplificos, and there's just a lot of space feels lately.

Harry shifted the strap of his bag on his shoulder and walked around the Astronomy Tower slowly. There were clearly marked areas for telescopes but only the few provided by the school were already set up, and these telescopes were larger than the collapsible one he'd somehow kept intact through his OWL with some sort of extension clipped onto the eyepiece. He tried to ignore the suspicion that these rather nice looking models were probably quite expensive and glanced at the adjustable desk tops. NEWT students had small adjustable straight edges and clips to hold their parchment in place, and Harry blinked suspiciously at the small glass globes floating near the bottom of the desk. They were filled with a deep red light and were bobbing slightly like they knew he was there.

"Potter?", Harry watched the glass globes rise slowly into the air as Malfoy entered the open air teaching space. They were probably reactive to registered students, Harry thought, as he watched them start a gentle dance of illuminating the stone floor and writing stations. He shifted the strap of his bag and found his left hand sneaking into his trousers pocket. It had sounded simple enough when he was going over the forthcoming conversation while walking there, but now, he was finding it harder to look Malfoy in the eye than he'd expected. Harry took a deep breath and tried to not stumble over his words from rushing, "I was a bit of an arse to bring up your father on Thursday, but I don't think avoiding me for four days helps the bond."

"Oh", Malfoy still looked rather taken aback to see Harry, and Harry found himself shifting his weight from one foot to another while the other boy set down his large case near one of the desk tops and opened the lid. His blond hair was almost glowing in the night viewing light, and he looked like he was thinking through his response while he went about setting up his telescope. Harry stared down at his worn trainers instead of watching Malfoy polish the eyepiece and extension, which could apparently be bent out of the way. Malfoy's voice was quiet when he finally spoke, "Severus is my Potions Master, and I have a method of making up class time when my apprenticeship conflicts with attendance. I was busy helping him prepare a Mongolian Sleep Draught, and it's notoriously fickle when it comes to timing. Just letting it simmer for two minutes too long can transform the potion into a lethal poison at crucial points."

"Ah", Harry kept his gaze trained on the floor in front of him and almost talked himself out of continuing, but he was sure he'd die from embarrassment if he waited long enough that any of the other students walked in while he explained the next part, "This kinda itch feeling started in about lunchtime on Saturday, and I found something in the library -- I mean, Mathilda Quimby isn't an expert on accidental blood bonds, but she did sorta document one in the 50s, so I don't see why her theory of a low level proximity charm might not be true --"

Malfoy seemed to take pity on the rambling explanation and cut Harry off, "Most low level proximity charms create an unpleasant sensation under the skin until you're within close enough proximity to the target. If you felt better when I walked in, that should be your answer."

Harry glanced up at him and tried to ignore how his gray eyes reflected the red light from the globes in an unsettlingly familiar way, and he nodded ever so slightly while shifting his hold on his bag, "It doesn't feel like something's trying to scratch its way out of my skin, but it's not quite gone. I -", Harry chewed at his lip, nervously, "I think the blood bond's made it worse."

"Probably an amicability measure", Malfoy set about getting his parchment and a self-inking quill out. Harry found the neon blue glow of the ink on the parchment amusing, but he didn't think a comment about gel pens would go over well in present company. Malfoy continued speaking once his station had been reorganized to his liking, "It's not uncommon in arranged marriages for the blood bond to encourage spending time together and building some level of tolerance for each other in the first year."

"You walked passed the Potions classroom this morning at 10:20, and you almost walked into the Great Hall during lunch at 12:45", Harry watched the other boy fiddle with the hem of his jumper, pulling at a probably imaginary green string, "I really don't think the bond liked four days apart."

Malfoy nodded quietly and smoothed out his robe, "I'll let Severus know that we need to maintain some interaction when I can't get to classes. Being in the same room seems to be the extent of the proximity measure."

A small clearing of a throat came from the top of the stairs. Harry and Malfoy both glanced there, and Harry swallowed nervously when he saw Professor Sinistra. She had intense dark eyes, and even though the globes were dancing above their heads, the red light didn't seem to affect their ability to stare within him. She walked forward confidently and clasped her hands together in front of her deep blue robes that almost looked purple given the present lighting. Professor Sinistra inclined her head to the both of them, and Harry found his mind blank, unable to come up with a reason as to why he might be waiting in a NEWT class he wasn't taking to talk to someone he'd been rivals with for years. Her pointed hat kept her hair out of her face in the slight breeze, and Harry turned to Malfoy quickly to escape the stern line of her mouth. The Slytherin was prepared, "I'm afraid we're under a low level proximity charm, Professor."

Professor Sinistra's mouth quirked slightly, and Harry found himself quietly exhaling in relief. He couldn't blame her for suspecting a fight, but he had little experience with reading her moods and didn't want to find out if she could be any more stern. God help the Ravenclaws that needed a telling off, and he readjusted the strap of his bag yet again when he realized she very well could still tell them off. The Gryffindor had much more experience with his own Head of House and didn't want to contemplate how this inter-House punishment may pan out. Professor Sinistra's smile was small and threw Harry off slightly as she proceeded to double check the school provided telescopes, "I can't say I'm surprised someone finally tried one on the two of you. A little civility goes a long way when you can't leave someone for a while."

"Er", Harry glanced to Malfoy and found himself clenching his left hand into a fist, trying to hide the ring even further than a glamour and a pocket could provide. Harry reconsidered his aversion to the slipperiness of snakes when thinking on their feet briefly as Malfoy took the lead again, "I'm sure Potter would be well behaved if you agreed to let him stay within the proximity confines during class, Professor. Nothing strenuous, just staying within the Tower."

Professor Sinistra nodded and gave a careful flick of her wand to the nearest school provided telescope. It rose a few inches, slid into the place nearest Malfoy, and then sunk to the floor without a sound. She motioned to the writing station next to it and several glass globes huddled close to provide their deep red light, "I'm not going to have you sitting around and doing nothing then, Mr. Potter."

"I'm not ready", Harry blurted out and then winced. He had always been rather well behaved in Astronomy, and this would either be an awkward slide back into doing as he was told or an uncomfortable drag into the advanced level of stargazing. Professor Sinistra stared at him for a moment before motioning to the desktop again, "Simply clip the edges of your parchment in place. I'm afraid we don't have time for a complete rundown on making adjustments, but this angle should work well for one night of charting."

"I wasn't prepared to get this far", Harry dug into his bag and pulled out a pencil and a lone red pen, his left hand holding the flap out of his way. Professor Sinistra inclined her head slightly, and Harry got the distinct impression that she was used to wearing glasses some of the time and would've been staring over the rims sternly like McGonagall was able to. She swished her wand and stated calmly, "Subluceo."

A faint glimmer spread throughout the tube of ink within the pen, and Harry shook his head at the new glow-in-the-dark shade of neon pink. There'd be no doubt that he would be able to read that shade in the darkness of the Tower, and he spared a glance for the faint glimmer attached to the graphite tip of his pencil. It looked to be a pastel blue, and he wondered briefly if he'd still be able to erase with it. Professor Sinistra nodded to him before making minute adjustments to the angle of the telescope, "We've started the term by working through seasonal constellations with the Ptolemaic method. Given your present situation, I think it'd be fitting to focus on one of the homework constellations, a particular circumpolar one."

Draco sighed but didn't expand on the sound of exasperation when Professor Sinistra glanced at him. He turned away from Harry and her to pull out a surprisingly large book and reorganize his work station. Harry took a step forward to his temporary station and dropped his bag on the stone floor. He set about clipping some spare parchment into place instead of looking at the few students who had made their way to the top of the stairs and were watching him settle in to join their class for the night. An equally large book appeared in the air beside Harry's elbow, and he took it with a small nod to Professor Sinistra. She cleared her throat, "Start with an in-scale tracing of the constellation, and label each star with the scientific and traditional name when indicated in the text", she demonstrated how to move the extension, "Tuck the amplifico in the slot in front of the eyepiece, and move onto noting star companions and deep sky objects. A dotted line should be used to connect a location with a simple sketch when appropriate for deep sky objects. Please start with the most well-known three: the Cat's Eye Nebula, Spindle Galaxy, and the Tadpole Galaxy."

Harry opened the text - _Advanced Stargazing: A Student's Introduction to Amplificos_ \- and wished that Pureblood families didn't like astronomical names so much when he moved the bookmark out of the way. Of course Professor Sinistra had picked the constellation Draco, and it was clear everyone else had picked up on this when she listed out the most well-known deep sky objects. Harry ignored the curious glances sent his way and was relieved when Professor Sinistra's clear voice announced that the Wain was in position for 11 o'clock. He picked up the pencil and started sketching out the position of the brightest star in his view, Eltanin, or according to the faint glow of the text, Gamma Draconis. He glanced at the small protractor and decided to use the in-scale circles for star size when he was done with the rough sketch. That pen was going to come in handy after all for going back over the final placement.

An hour later, Harry was glaring at the interlocking lines of the Cat's Eye Nebula he was tracing under the deep red light of the globes. Turns out there were so many damn stars and companions in this constellation that it was the first deep sky object on his chart, but he successfully pushed away the fear of having run out of time. He wasn't a registered student in this class, and it was incredibly freeing to be able to ignore the explanation of the essay due next week and finish shading the nebula. The glow of the pencil increased slightly with shading, and Harry suspected the authors hadn't planned on a student using a pencil when they made the suggestion to alter the cross-hatching method suitable for ink in order to keep the interlocking lines of the nebula distinct. Professor Sinistra clucked her tongue but made no comment as Harry started unclipping the parchment with an apologetic whisper, "Er, I skipped over the cross-hatching."

Harry tucked the pencil behind his ear and rolled up the partial chart carefully, surprisingly pleased with his progress. Take away the pressure of a grade, and Astronomy was a lot more relaxing than he ever would have expected. He almost regretted not continuing the class. Professor Sinistra showed him how to unclip the amplifico and pack away the telescope into the waiting case. She disassembled the other school telescopes with a complicated wave of her wand and they quickly put themselves away while the other students packed their own telescopes into cases. She sent the cases scurrying with a little nudge of her dragonhide boot to settle in a cabinet somewhere inside the Tower, and students slowly filtered out of the slight chill of the late evening. Finally, she turned to face Harry, who was starting to fidget slightly while Malfoy drug his feet in packing away his work station, "Your magical signature doesn't have the appropriate signs of a proximity charm, Mr. Potter."

"Oh", Harry glanced at Malfoy's back, unable to tell if he was standing so straight from something ridiculous like etiquette training or something more reasonable like tension. His eyes couldn't burn through the school robes to find an answer, and he glanced back to the witch who was waiting for him to speak. Without thinking, his fingers brushed over the ring and the serpents of its crest, the curve of which was slowly becoming familiar to him. Harry held his hand up and let the glamour flicker away long enough for the ring to be clearly visible in the red light before speaking, "It was one helluva accident, but there is some sort of proximity thing going on."

Professor Sinistra's small smile returned as she turned to look at Malfoy, who had paused in rolling his chart to glance at Harry's ring, "Severus didn't mention a proximity measure, but I imagine he was too busy with the Mongolian Sleep Draught to notice this weekend."

Harry let the glamour flicker back into place and scowled at the stone nearest his right trainer, muttering to himself, "What happened to discretion?"

He could still hear the smile in his professor's voice, "Well, he couldn't explain your introduction to the Tawch without that detail, now could he?", and Harry glanced up quickly. Only Gwyllon used that term, and she nodded ever so slightly in acknowledgement of his unspoken question. He nodded back and shoved his hands into his pockets, thinking wistfully of the gloves he'd left back in his dorm when he'd forgotten that Astronomy was being held outside in the beginning of November. Harry glanced to his bag still sitting under the writing table and back to Professor Sinistra, who had turned slightly so she could address Malfoy, "Albus, Severus, and I are the only staff that know, at this particular moment. We didn't think either of you would want the full staff and inevitably the student body to know just yet."

"Yet?", Malfoy's whisper had an irritated scratchy quality to it after an hour of silence, but he cleared his throat and continued in a stronger voice, "It doesn't have to be inevitable."

Malfoy had finished packing away his parchment, quill, and text, and his bag was resting near a dragonhide boot. He'd wrapped the green and silver scarf of his House around his neck and had his hands tucked into the deep pockets of his winter cloak. Harry couldn't blame him for preparing for a class he'd signed up for, but he did shove his hands further into his own robes, the normal school set that was perfectly fine for much of autumn and the warmer months but barely noticeable now. Professor Sinistra eyed him and then Harry, holding her hands in front of her with the endurance of someone incredibly warm blooded or skilled with Warming Charms, "There's just enough Proximus to make sharing classes inevitable, but you're clearly not experiencing the full effects that demand constant proximity. The charm would have to be reapplied to explain away the effects lasting for the rest of the year because there's not much that can do low level proximity for such an extended period of time other than a blood bond."

"Exactly how long does the strongest Proximus last?", Malfoy couldn't meet Harry's questioning stare, and Harry's eyes flitted away uncomfortably when those silver ones caught the globe light in a bright flash of red. He stared down near his trainers while Malfoy continued to speak quietly, seeming a bit uncertain about talking too loud outside, "The cover could buy us enough time to adjust to this situation without outside opinions and commentary, if you will."

"I'll have to talk with Albus and Severus", Professor Sinistra folded her arms with a thoughtful hum, "It's possible that a Proximus could be lengthened by a potions accident, but it may be more trouble than it's worth when you'd have to share every class for about six weeks. As it currently stands, we could explain away sharing a few afternoon or evening classes until the end of November with a spell."

"Most of our NEWT classes are in the morning", Harry bent down and picked up his bag, slinging it over his right shoulder quickly and returning his hand to the meager warmth of his robes, "I mean, we have to be apart some time. The bond can't be that demanding."

Professor Sinistra turned more fully towards Malfoy, "Do you have a class where it'd be easy for Mr. Potter to work on something else? I imagine Albus would look more kindly on the situation if it didn't interfere with either of your studies."

Malfoy shifted and toed at his bag, "I'd rather not deal with him needing to unlearn runology, so Ancient Runes is out", he glanced at a globe floating near the top of his writing table and seemed to speak without wanting to, "I suppose Professor Burbage would be alright with him sitting in on Muggle Studies."

Harry bit back a laugh and purposefully kept his eyes on the stone floor. His first thought about whether Lucius knew his son was learning about people they considered inferior was a tad cruel in going for low hanging fruit. Hell, he'd be rendering his attempt at an apology from earlier void, and there'd be no way to tell how pissed off Malfoy might be. The Slytherin may well have a higher tolerance for the uncomfortable itch of the proximity measure, but he would probably be willing to suffer through it while pissed off and avoid Harry for several days. Professor Sinistra cleared her throat, and Harry looked up through the ends of his black fringe. Her dark eyes had narrowed slightly, "Undoing years of learned prejudice doesn't happen overnight, Mr. Potter, and it certainly doesn't happen if one avoids a class devoted to the topic."

Harry glanced to Malfoy, who shrugged and glanced down to the toes of his boots, "Father insists that knowing how to blend in with Muggles is a helpful skill", he glanced up to Harry with a small cold smile, "Historical precedent for Dark families needing to go on the run and hide for a while, you see."

"I've had years to learn how to distrust Slytherins", Harry spoke as evenly as he could, "I'm certainly not going to change overnight, even with this bond, and I can't expect you to change beliefs that have had longer to set in."

"I have too many memories of my ancestors dying at the hands of Muggles to change like that", Malfoy's voice was rather steely in the unforgiving chill of the night, "Gwyllon live the deaths of their ancestors, Potter. I refuse to feel sorry for hating those people when I die at their hands in nightmares."

Despite the severe chill in the air, Harry found himself pulling his hands from the pockets of his robes and folding his arms over his chest. He tried to keep from grinding his teeth while speaking, a surprisingly warm flicker of anger spreading inside, "Gee, I wonder what it's like to hate the people responsible for your family dying, but it's not like I can hear them screaming or see them dying in my dreams, or anything."

"Mr. Potter", Harry refused to look at Professor Sinistra, and her low warning hung in the air. He held Malfoy's gaze and slowly worked his jaw back and forth in order to keep himself from an additional outburst. If there ever was a time in his life that he thought he had a calm bone in his body, Harry was going to bring the past week up in a pensieve and remind himself about the irrationality he dove into when cooped up with Malfoy for too long. Malfoy had withdrawn his hands from his pockets at some point as well and was mirroring Harry's defensive posture, arms crossed over his chest and gaze steady. Professor Sinistra broke the tension, "Mr. Malfoy, you're not going to go out and kill, or even hurt, a random Muggle, are you?"

Malfoy closed his eyes and sighed deeply, "Of course not, Professor. I've made strides in keeping my dislike to myself these past few years. I would simply ignore a random Muggle."

Professor Sinistra turned to face Harry with a small sigh of her own, "No one expects the two of you to agree about everything, but you're looking at close to three years of reasonably close contact. Would civility be an unreasonable goal?"

Both boys shook their heads silently. Malfoy rolled his shoulders and seemed to lose some tension, even though he maintained the defensive stance. His gaze had softened somewhat, and Harry looked away while drawing his arms closer to himself. He absolutely needed to remember his winter cloak or learn some decent Warming Charms, and his brief anger had ebbed away with its warmth. The witch between the two of them readjusted her robes and muttered something about teenage boys before taking a small step back in order to take in both wizards before her, "I need to speak with Albus about class visitation, but if Muggle Studies is too contentious of a topic, Mr. Potter is more than welcome to drop by the Tower again", she paused slightly to glance to the night sky above them, "It's a quarter past curfew for Astronomy students. I will accompany you to your common rooms, so we avoid unnecessary detentions tonight."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Source](http://kvmagruder.net/bcp/diurnal/circumpolar.htm) for using Wain instead of Big Dipper.


	6. Brythonic (T)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My bad for missing out on mentioning Diwali (last Wed) for those who celebrate it. I was admittedly multi-tasking between finalizing Ch 5 and last minute prep for voting when I posted. I've been trying to post anywhere between midnight and 2 am on Tuesdays.

"For the love Buddug", Malfoy stared down at the scroll of parchment in front of him with a small sigh. Harry glanced up from the small scroll he was looking at on his side of the circular table. The Room of Requirement looked identical to how he'd left it Thursday, minus the basil blossoms, and they were limping through another lesson. Harry was quite sure it was a good thing he wasn't getting a literal grade from these lessons because his first futhorc quiz had been an utter failure. He'd probably done better on his History of Magic OWL even. Malfoy pushed at the edges of his sleeves but seemed to catch himself before undoing any of the buttons to roll his sleeves up. He sighed again and set his quill off to the side without marking the scroll. Blond hair swung forward as Malfoy pulled a manila folder from his bag, and he brushed his hair back as he slid the parchment inside. He returned the folder to his bag with a simple statement, "There's only room for improvement. Literally."

Harry shifted in his seat and continued to stare at the parchment in front of him. Malfoy had provided a written copy of the small glossary of words he was going to go over in today's lesson, and Harry honestly didn't want to think about the quiz any more than he had to while in such proximity to the source of embarrassment. He muttered, more to himself than the other wizard in the room, "Some of them look alike. Four of them look like an 'f' for fuck's sake."

Malfoy pinched the bridge of his nose and nodded his head ever so slightly. Harry thought by the stretch of silence that he might be counting, but it was clearly not an ideal time to question about specifics. After another moment, Malfoy settled his hands on the table before him and rolled his shoulders, breathing out longer and slower than normal. He opened his eyes and looked at a flickering torch above Harry's right shoulder while speaking in the forcibly calm tone of someone unable to back out of a situation, "Futhorc quiz every Tuesday for the foreseeable future then."

"Let's get this over with", Harry mumbled and pushed the parchment a little further from him on the dark wood of the table. He glanced over the first three words and nodded at what had already been revealed to him: Tawch - the Dark community; Gwyllon - at least two Dark wixen; Llwydnos - a Dark witch, wizard, or wix. Harry wrote notes on pronunciation off to the side of the neat black cursive in the pale blue glimmer of his Astronomy pencil. While Malfoy had assured him that a simple Finite Incantatem would return his graphite to its original smoky gray, Harry was forcing himself to acclimate to reading the faint glow.

"Pronunciation will make a lot more sense if you remember that 'w' is a vowel in Brythonic", Malfoy glanced down at his copy of the small piece of parchment, which had additional notes grouped into a neat block of bullet points, and cleared his throat, "Alright. It's a bit soon to start on spells, so I have a list of phrases you're otherwise likely to run into in the near future. First, the traditional greeting 'I wish for the sunset tonight'. A history of meeting at night and such tends towards a preference for the sunset and night rather than the sun of Helion", Malfoy's voice deepened into the strange sounds, "Dymunaf ar gyfer y machlud haul heno."

Harry shook his head slightly and pushed away the knot of tension that had settled somewhere between his chest and his stomach. There was no reasonable explanation for it to form as the syllables slid from Malfoy's tongue with ease. He carefully parroted the words back, jotted notes at the slow repetition, and stammered out a halfway decent pronunciation. Malfoy repeated the phrase at full speed and nodded at Harry's attempt, "We're going to be going over some of these a lot, so it'll get easier with time. Next is the traditional farewell 'I delay the dawn' - Rwy'n oedi'r wawr."

 _'W's are vowels, 'w's are vowels, 'w's are vowels_ , Harry thought to himself, trying to wrap his tongue around it. The pale blue glow of graphite drew lines and tried to punctuate rolls in the vain attempt that his tongue would pay attention. Harry stumbled through a second attempt at the phrase before Malfoy moved on. He smoothed out the piece of parchment a bit unnecessarily while explaining, "This phrase is the heart of a basic cleansing, or recaning. The physical process you choose can vary, but you should still see the shadows of residual Dark magic fall away as long as you say, 'Dychwelaf cysgodion i'r noson'. I return shadows to the night."

Harry's eyes unfocused ever so slightly as he looked down at his pronunciation notes and repeated the recaning phrase for the umpteenth time. Malfoy was insistent that they couldn't start any magic practice until he could successfully cleanse the residue away on his own, but Harry was doubtful he could stumble through a perfect recitation so soon. If he had thought the Latin spells favored by Helion could be difficult, he was now regretting any grumblings that had landed him in this situation. Latin was nothing compared to Brythonic. Harry almost chanted the phrase back to Malfoy before closing his eyes, pushing his glasses up onto his forehead, leaning forward, and resting his head on the table.

"Trying osmosis?"

The words of the recaning slid out of his mouth perfectly before Harry could fully process the question, and he raised his head. He squinted over his crossed arms at the pale face, but it was too blurry to make out an expression. He pulled his glasses back onto his nose and took in the genuine, if small, smile across the table. Malfoy inclined his head and slid his piece of parchment into his bag, the smile falling away into a smirk, "Perhaps you need to try osmosis with the futhorc."

Harry sighed and slid his own piece of parchment into the spare notebook he'd been taking down notes in. He hadn't wanted to lose the snake's cryptic message when he'd first started writing, but the notes had quickly devolved into passing details (Of course Sinistra is a Llwydnos with a name like that), reminders (Skip Astro tom to finish Charms essay), and thoughts about the whole situation (Does Malfoy know the snake - Ouroboros - knows so much about the Tawch? Should I mention it?). Without Ron and Hermione, the sounding board he'd grown to depend on in the previous years at Hogwarts, Harry felt like he was holding onto too much information. The quick evolution into a journal was probably a sign that he needed to get his thoughts out somewhere, and honestly, if Lord fucking Voldemort had a diary as a teen, Harry wasn't going to beat himself up over this development. At any rate, he had plenty of room to copy out the futhorc and these Brythonic phrases while committing them to memory.

His stomach growled, and Harry glanced at the table, idly wishing he was already down in the Great Hall where dinner was going to start in the next few minutes. It had been a long time since the shepherd's pie at lunch, and Harry blinked down at the platter that had appeared in the center of the table in surprise. He glanced up at Malfoy, who looked equally surprised and had paused in tucking his bottle of red ink in his bag. They both stared at the shepherd's pie sitting innocently on the baby blue dish and then at each other. Harry broke the silence first, "Er, I don't think I've ever tried asking the Room for food before."

"The Room can't have created it, Potter", Malfoy sounded tired like he'd been through this explanation at least once already, "Food is one of the Principal Exceptions to Gamp's Law of Elemental Transfiguration, so the Room probably figured out a way to nick something from the kitchen."

"You look all gift horses in the mouth, Malfoy?", Harry stared at the shepherd's pie wistfully, but he knew on some level unconnected to his stomach that he should go down to the Great Hall and get food the proper way. His stomach, however, had zero issues with the food presented to it, even if it had been suspiciously delivered. He thought about the food returning to the kitchens and sighed as it blinked out of existence, leaving the plate behind. Malfoy hummed and pulled _Advanced Stargazing_ from his bag, letting the flap drop carelessly, as he stood with the deep purple book tucked into the arm opposite of said bag. Harry shoved his notebook in between his Transfiguration and Charms texts and tucked his Astronomy pencil behind an ear while shrugging his bag over a shoulder. Given how heavy _Advanced Stargazing_ had seemed last night, he couldn't blame Malfoy for trying to spread the weight evenly. Neither spoke as they walked to the door and let it swing shut behind them, disappearing into the wall of the seventh floor corridor.

Harry turned left towards the route that would take him to the Great Hall the fastest, and Malfoy turned right. Both boys paused, eyeing each other warily, and the Slytherin readjusted his tie in what Harry realized was a moment of nervousness. He wondered if Malfoy was aware that he tried to straighten and neaten when he was unable to control something and promptly pushed that thought away. Harry couldn’t care less about his nervous tics. Malfoy glanced up and down the corridor with an almost imperceptible twist of his neck before speaking quietly, "I'll be in the library or the Astronomy Tower tonight if you get twitchy later."

Harry nodded and twisted the strap of his bag slightly. He sighed and replied quickly before he could talk himself out of saying anything, "I'll be in my common room if you get twitchy."

Malfoy's brow furrowed, but no denial of twitchiness flew back into Harry's face, so he didn't push or retract the suggestion. He turned with a deep hum and a swish of robes to walk down the corridor, and Harry mirrored the action, turning on his heel with a little less grace and walking away. It was the smallest of baby steps, but with Harry's recent Gryffindor penchant for talking his way into arguments that could be avoided and flinging the door open to dirty laundry and skeletons between the two of them, this could be marked down as a tentative success. Well, as long as he acted like it hadn't happened and distracted Ron with questions about their Charms essay, Harry could acknowledge for a few more moments that he had been civil with Malfoy. Ron had quite predictably not heard Harry's revelation that Malfoy was teaching him some basics about Dark magic over his laughter at accidentally bonding with their rival, and his gut told him that it might be better if things stayed that way. Harry untucked the pencil from his ear and slowly twirled it between his fingers as he walked down another flight of stairs; it probably wouldn't go over well if he admitted the proximity bit to Ron either.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Boudica](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boudica) is known in Welsh as Buddug. Rather than trying to update the list of Brythonic and created spells as each individual chapter updates, I'm going to be working somewhat ahead.


	7. Maintenance (W)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Added to Characters: Ron Weasley  
> Added to Tags: Ron Weasley/Lavender Brown (background)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm pretty sure I read in one of AO3's FAQs that a tagged ship will still show up in ship searches, but a part of my brain finds that background ships make more sense in tags. If someone really wanted to read a Ron / Lavender fic, this is not it, y'know?

"So, did the twins put you up to it?"

Harry looked up briefly from the bishop that was moving across the board and hummed in Ron's direction. The redhead fidgeted with the sleeve of his maroon jumper, still a smidge long in the arms. He barely glanced at Harry's hand moving a pawn, much to the distress of the piece itself - "I can walk you know!" - and continued, "I've had a right laugh, but the joke's up, innit? It's almost been a week."

Harry let his eyes wander from the small table they were sitting at in the Gryffindor common room to the nearby flames crackling in the fireplace. It'd been a bit too good to be true that Ron had believed his explanation, and now the other shoe was busy dropping. He pushed the sleeves of Mrs. Weasley's jumper up to his elbows and sighed before shaking his head. A brief glance to blue eyes widening, and Harry resumed staring down at the bottommost hem of emerald green and the precise swirls of the cabling. Hermione had believed him once she'd seen the ring, but then again, she had spent the better part of a day combing through the library to verify the existence of the Celtic knot test first. Ron had simply snorted and gone back to his Defense essay.

"This lines up with the twins’ line of infatuation gags, though", Ron was staring intently at one of his castles over steepled fingers, but he was temporarily ignoring the game, "Just slap a weak proximity charm on a ring, and bam, you can fake a relationship."

"But why would we want to?", Harry tried to not sound dejected, but he really didn't want to go rounds over this. Surely, a brother of the twins would understand that accidents happen sometimes, and you just had to ride out the side effects. Ron shook his head slightly, "Someone else might've rigged it. It'd be funny for rivals to be stuck together for a bit, y'know?"

"That Celtic knot test is real. Hermione found it in some book about ancient wedding customs, or something, so --", Harry quickly stopped at Ron's intense glare. Oh, right, Ron and Hermione weren't speaking since Ron had started seeing Lavender sometime last week. That definitely caught Harry and Hermione off guard, so neither had wanted to broach the topic of The Accident with Ron again, especially since it would entail Hermione leaving her book fortress long enough to speak to the clueless git. He shrugged and picked idly at a hangnail, mumbling, "Well, someone had to stop laughing long enough to do some research."

Ron coughed weakly then cleared his throat, awkwardly, "An accidental blood bond to the Ferret does sound like the start of a brilliant joke. Might bring his Highness down a peg or two, you know? I'm sure his father's furious about all his plans for some perfect Pureblood arrangement falling through. Malfoy's been a right ponce, but I'm sure dear old dad expected a witch."

Harry shrugged and couldn't keep the vague 'I don't bloody well know' hum from escaping, "Mm-mm. His mum was the one who attended the Celtic knot test, and we're trying to avoid talking about Lucius. Getting mad and storming off is a lot harder to do when something itches under my skin and starts trying to claw its out if we avoid each other."

Ron grimaced, "Right, well, maybe he doesn't fly for that team after all. It'd make this whole situation less awkward at any rate."

"I mean", Harry cleared his throat, "We just have to spend a little time in the same room every day. Going to classes takes care of it, so it's not like", he stumbled and looked at Ron carefully, "Wait, you're - you're Pureblood. Is there something --"

"No", Ron shook his head violently, "Blood bonds are nothing like lust, or even some love, potions. If you don't want to do something, nothing's going to make you try."

Harry nodded, and they were silent for a moment. Ron shifted in his chair and looked over at the fire, clearly uncomfortable with the bush they'd just beaten around. Harry found himself shifting in his chair as well. He was quite sure that their 'engagement' years had rules around appropriate physical contact, given how archaic some of the Pureblood traditions could be, but Harry hadn't even thought of what may be part of the ceremony to officially complete their marriage yet. A kiss would more than likely be considered appropriate, but they surely didn't have to approach -- Harry winced away from the thought. Unless a bonding ceremony was different from Muggle customs? Perhaps the history of arranged marriages got rid of some of the overly affectionate parts. He shook his head and tried to sound confident, "We just have to try to be civil is all. That's more than enough to worry about for now."

"Yeah, reckon so", Ron gently picked up one of Harry's pawns from the injured pile and ran his thumb over the shield, his brows furrowed in contemplation. He shook his head a moment later and glanced up at Harry, freckles shifting with the wide grin, "How's that Charms essay coming along?"

Harry groaned good-naturedly at the unspoken request to take a peek at his draft, but as he pushed the chair away from the table and stood to retrieve his bag from the foot of his bed, Harry was relieved. There was plenty of time to avoid certain topics, and even if it would hurt later, he'd rather wait and burn a bridge when he got to it instead of getting caught up in something that was years off into the future. He smiled at the sight that was waiting at the bottom of the stairs when Harry came back down with his bag slung over his shoulder and the notebook where he was keeping his Charms work tucked under an arm; Ron had flung his bag over their table near a window and was sitting with a scroll of parchment and a pale blue spell-checking quill in hand. He'd set their Charms text off to the side, but it was unopened and more for show than anything. Harry shook his head slightly and brushed his fringe out of his eyes. Not that he'd ever tell Ron, but he sometimes wanted to disappear among the miniature towers of books at Hermione's table in the library where it was quiet and they could work separately in peace.

"Alright", Harry set his bag on the floor near the closest table leg and slid into the chair opposite to Ron. He flipped through the pages of Muggle paper covered in class notes and turned to the second division where colors swam in quotes, notes, and citations. He pushed his glasses further up on his nose and motioned to the outline starting with the thesis in a green bubble, wand movement maps affecting mood-altering charms and their successful casting in an affirmative manner, and connected to other bubbles of color. Ron was finally figuring out the system - supporting evidence in blue and arguments against the thesis in red - when Harry had finished copying his conclusion from the draft in the notebook to the scroll of parchment. Maybe it was because switching ink colors took more effort with quills, but the redhead didn't seem to understand why color coding helped Harry.

Perhaps this moment of satisfaction was why Hermione preferred to work ahead and finish her homework early, Harry thought to himself as he capped his black pen. He hadn't really asked Professor Flitwick if using Muggle writing utensils would be alright before writing out the final draft of his essay, but he was willing to take a gamble. It wasn't exactly a secret that his handwriting was a lot better when he used a pen or pencil, so he figured Flitwick would appreciate not having to strain to read the scrawl of his quill penmanship. Harry glanced at the clock on the wall above Ron's shoulder and flipped through his Charms notes, squinting at the margins for the spell he'd scribbled there at the start of term. It'd started out as a way to find Hermione in the library, but there wasn't any rule that he couldn't use it for someone else. He flipped through his spare scrolls of parchment before finding an even square and dug fruitlessly for his Astronomy pencil. It was probably tucked inside the notebook that was turning into a journal, which was sitting on the small inn table next to his bed.

"Subluceo virens", Harry held a spare pencil in his left hand and carefully pointed his wand with his right. He hadn't gotten around to asking Hermione about whether tacking on a color would work with this spell, but there was only one way to try. It would either work, or he'd have to explain to Madam Pomfrey why his fingers had turned green. The glimmer spread through the graphite, and instead of the typical blue that black shades turned, it was a pale green. He carefully wrote in the center of the parchment square, _Working on Charms if Sinistra asks_ , and folded the square into a paper crane. Harry squeezed Malfoy's name onto one of the wings as an afterthought and set the pencil down in order to pick up his wand. A figure eight swish and an "Ad libera nuntium" later, the crane was flapping its wings and floating away towards the portrait hole to deliver the message. It would take several minutes to fly to the Astronomy Tower, but it should still get there before class started.

"Spending too much time in the library, mate", Ron grumbled as he turned back from watching the crane fly through the opened portrait, "Mione's starting to rub off on you."


	8. Growth (Th)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To US readers: Enjoy Thanksgiving. I have no clue what's going on in the sports area, but my family's gonna be watching the dog show and recovering from the turkey.
> 
> To everyone else: Enjoy an extra chapter this week.

Harry stared at the veritable rainbow of glittering pencils sprawled before him in sharp contrast to the dark wood of the table in the Room of Requirement. He was staring down at his partial star chart, carefully erasing the brighter glimmers of shading and filling in colors with his collection of newly colored pencils. He slowly shaded in part of the Cat's Eye Nebula with the shimmering pale violet and didn't look up as the door creaked open. Malfoy's voice deepened into the familiar phrase as he walked towards the table in the center of the room, "Dymunaf ar gyfer y machlud haul heno."

"Dymunaf ar gyfer y machlud haul heno", Harry echoed, raising the tip of the graphite away from the parchment as Malfoy slid into the chair opposite him. He set the viola pencil off to the side and began to roll the chart up to put it away. Malfoy prodded one of the glimmering pencils with a hum, "Don't the Muggles already have colored pencils?"

Harry snorted as he tucked the parchment into his bag, "The colored graphite in those isn't erasable, and they don't have the glow-in-the-dark quality of the spell. I was just messing around with making new Astronomy pencils."

"Professor Sinistra might forgive the lack of cross-hatching if you have accurately colored sketches on your star chart", Malfoy let the suggestion hang in the air as he pulled his notebook with lesson notes, a self-inking quill already tucked in the pages for tonight's lesson, from his bag. He also pulled a small clear jar filled with acorns out and set it on the table in between them. Harry brushed his pencils off to the side near his bag and folded his hands patiently. Malfoy swished his wrist gracefully and a glass appeared in his waiting palm. He flicked his wand and muttered, "Aguamenti", as a stone basin materialized on the table in front of him. He cleared his throat and motioned to the glass of water, "It'll be easier to start with running water over your hands as you recan. We're going to be starting with one spell, so you don't get overwhelmed with residue."

Malfoy twisted the lid off the jar and pulled an acorn from inside. He set it on the table and continued with his explanation, "Unless the caster chooses to specify within their incantation, Brythonic has an openness, a flexibility if you will. This spell is the word 'grow', but it isn't limited to what we're doing. It will take focused concentration to get what you're saying to line up with your desired result."

Harry nodded as Malfoy held his hand out, palm facing towards the acorn, and said quietly yet clearly, "Prifio."

The outer shell of the acorn cracked and a dark shadow burst from within instead of the tender green plant Harry had been expecting. It was growing at an unnatural pace with dark shadows twisting the small tree skyward and wrapping around the bark in thick layers. The tree finally shuddered to a halt, branches ending in sharp spindly points, when it was about six feet high and at least three feet wide. Harry stared down at the thick roots and was slightly surprised to see that they were an interlocking mat meant to stabilize the tree more so than a seeker of nourishment. Granted, he didn't have much experience with trees that weren't in the ground. Malfoy took a deep breath and flicked his wand to raise the tree and lower it onto the floor to the right of the table. He set another acorn on the table and motioned to Harry, "We'll use trees at about that size for targets, but just start with something small."

Harry nodded and stared down at the acorn sitting on the table. He blinked, licked his lips, and tried to picture a short tree, not caring for the moment if it was an oak. The problem was that the first tree that came to mind was the Whomping Willow. Harry tried to shrink the size of the willow in his mind's eye and hesitantly held out his hand towards the innocent seed. He cleared his throat, took a deep breath, and closed his eyes, picturing the thin swirl of the branches as clearly as he could. Harry whispered, "Prifio", and felt the tug of something slipping from his chest, down his arm, and out through his hand. At the sound of something wooden hitting the stone floor with a muffled clatter, he opened his eyes and reflexively pushed back from the table.

"Bloody hell", Malfoy's voice was muffled by the waves of spindly branches and fragile leaves. The tree was at least four feet thick and over ten feet high, but Harry wasn't entirely sure to what extent the leaves were adding to the height. It looked like a miniature, peaceful Whomping Willow from sometime in the spring with its pale green leaves swaying innocently. The only sign that it wasn't a perfect copy was that the bark was darker than usual, and Harry stood slowly as he watched the shadows finish slotting themselves into the pattern of the bark. He edged around the left side of the table, away from Malfoy's example tree, and peered through the curtain of willow leaves. Malfoy was standing several feet away from his side of the table, looking like he might've jumped and stumbled in his rush. He licked his lips and silver eyes darted to green with a slight nod, "If that's small, I don't want to see your idea of large, Potter."

Harry laughed, a slightly startled yet relieved sound, and Malfoy smiled despite himself as they turned to look at the tree. The Slytherin motioned with his wand, and the tree slowly lifted with a deep creaking sound to float into the far back right corner of the room. He walked around the table to pick up the still intact jar of acorns and stooped to gather the few that had rolled across the floor. Harry walked back around his side of the table and picked up his collection of Astronomy pencils that had been swept onto the floor by twisting roots. He dropped them into an inner pocket of his bag with his other pens and pencils before turning to look at Malfoy, who was staring into the jar of acorns with a thoughtful expression. He spoke quietly to the acorns instead of looking at Harry, "You didn't picture the growth of the tree, did you?"

"Er", Harry glanced over his shoulder to the willow, "I guess I was more focused on the final image."

Malfoy nodded and met his questioning gaze, "You can control the growth better if you picture the tree growing", he tapped the lip of the jar, "You're not materializing a tree out of nothing. You're giving the natural growing process a nudge."

Harry nodded back and glanced down at his hands. He blinked in surprise for a moment before he remembered that he wasn't imagining shadows clinging to his fingers. That would be the residue of the Dark magic, and he held his hands out slowly, feeling absurdly like he'd gotten them wet or dirty and needed to carefully avoid dripping anything onto the floor. Malfoy hummed and glanced under the table, looking for the glass and basin that had disappeared after the willow's explosive growth. He flicked his wand towards the large tree and called a bit questioningly, "Accio glass. Accio basin."

A small rattling and creaking later, and both objects tumbled out of the thick twisted roots before sailing primly to the table. Malfoy refilled the glass with water and held it out to Harry. Summoning up some courage from where it appeared to have settled around his knees, the Gryffindor walked around the table and held his hands over the basin, palms up and fingers curled slightly like he could keep the shadows from falling. He sighed and murmured the recaning incantation, "Dychwelaf cysgodion i'r noson."

Malfoy slowly tilted the glass and let the water pour out. It turned black as it swept over Harry's tanned skin and carried the shadowy residue into the basin. Harry repeated the spell and watched more shadows drip away from his fingertips. He glanced up to Malfoy through his fringe, but the other boy didn't say anything, cocking his head to the side and setting the glass down. He refilled the glass and motioned dismissively towards Harry's outstretched hands. He pulled them close, angling them down slightly so the lingering drops of water would fall to the floor instead of his robes, and watched Malfoy pour water over his own hands while whispering the incantation. The water ran clear with about a quarter of the glass still filled, but he merely shrugged at Harry's questioning gaze, "You haven't recaned away any previous residue. As long as you're not in physical pain, you're fine."

Malfoy flicked lingering drops of water from his fingers and set the glass down on the table before handing the jar of acorns over, "Assuming you don't let a forest of Whomping Willows loose, I think you can practice on your own. Ask the Room to keep a hold of them, and we'll have something for offensive target practice."

"Offensive spells?", Harry tried to keep the curious hint out of his voice, but he wasn't entirely sure he succeeded when Malfoy glanced over with an eyebrow raised, "You're not doing anything until you can precisely control the growth, Potter. An explosive result like that willow while practicing an offensive spell could do the Dark Lord's work for him."

"Worse than Hermione", Harry grumbled as he wiped his palms across the legs of his trousers, so he could have a proper dry grip on the lid while screwing it back onto the jar, "I do know how to cast Protego, thanks."

Malfoy scooped up his notebook and quill from underneath his chair, which he righted and tucked under the table, before sitting down and making a few notes, "I can't speak for Granger, but I can admit my selfish reason is to avoid pain."

"Pain?", Harry's sharp question was more confused and surprised than concerned. Malfoy continued writing and kept his silver eyes trained on the page before him, "Some sort of safety measure from the blood bond. I wouldn't feel everything you felt, but from what Mother's described, there'd be an uncomfortable pressure and some sort of tugging in your direction. Supposedly, just enough discomfort to know you are in danger", he cleared his throat and closed the notebook, "However, I would prefer to not test this out, so please refrain from getting yourself killed, Potter."

Harry snorted and tucked the jar of acorns into his bag, but he paused as his eyes caught the virens pencil and looked across the table to the boy - his brain pushed away the undercurrent of worry that Malfoy was clearly a bloke - who was brushing his hair out of his eyes and trying to look like he hadn't admitted to the slightest bit of concern for Harry's welfare. Harry cleared his throat and chose his words carefully, slowly sitting in his own chair, "If a blood bond is the basis for a wedding ceremony, all people who get married are blood bound, even Helion. Are Helion blood bonds different from Tawch ones? I mean, in terms of side effects like the proximity thing and this safety issue."

Malfoy twirled his quill in one hand and tapped his fingers on the cover of his notebook with the other, "A blood bond doesn't particularly care if one party is a Hel and the other is a Llwydnos. The Helion go through the same side effects, but it depends on whether they hold a traditional wedding ceremony. I believe Hels slice the palms on the right hand and join them together while the left are bound together with the handfasting cord, while we do the opposite, but I honestly have never attended one of their ceremonies. As far as I know, most forgo the blood aspect and simply exchange rings these days."

"Oh", Harry glanced down at the flap of his bag and brushed away a few stray willow leaves. He frowned slightly and smoothed the soft fabric down at the corner before speaking, "It just seems like I keep getting surprised by something the blood bond does that no one's thought to warn me about or assumes I already know. I wasn't sure if the Tawch bit had something to do with that."

"Severus said you have access to a Pureblood library."

Harry looked up to eyes dark gray with intensity and then away towards the willow in the corner, "Sirius Black was my godfather, so he technically left a property - Grimmauld Place - to me in his will", he watched the curtain of leaves shift gently in a manner reminiscent of the Veil and shuddered, "The building is otherwise being used by Dumbledore - he's continuing something that started before Sirius died - and I don't exactly have free reign to just pop by and stroll through the library."

Malfoy hummed in thought and spoke quietly, almost musing out loud, "I could ask Mother if there's anything useful in the Black library. If she came up with a list for the Headmaster, he may agree to turn the books over without getting caught up in you needing to visit."

Harry nodded slightly and heard the whisper-scratch of Malfoy's quill in his notebook again. He glanced away from the parchment and stared at the smooth pale gray stone of the basin instead. After a few more scratches, Malfoy closed the notebook and stretched, bones popping loudly in the silence of the Room of Requirement. He absentmindedly ran his fingertip over the nib and flicked away the black drops of ink, and Harry drew on his Gryffindor impulsiveness before he buried the thought away, "Is there - er - a way to find out about the differences between the Helion and Tawch without bombarding you with questions?"

"History is written by the victors", Malfoy's laugh sounded a touch too sad to be bitter, "But there are grains of truth in their stories about us. Meeting at night in the old sacred groves that still carry the touch of the Ancients. Being able to talk with creatures and getting their assistance in magic. Any part of the human body can be used in magic - blood, skin, bones, you name it and we can use it. Unnatural children born after liaisons with not-quite-humans who can shape-shift."

"That sounds like the superstitions Muggles used in the witch tr--", Harry breathed in quickly and looked at Malfoy, who looked resigned while watching the pieces click into place for him, "The Helion told the Muggles?"

"Told, encouraged, handed over the names of Dark families when they were questioned", Malfoy snorted inelegantly, "Wendelin the Weird and her Flame-Freezing Charm fetish were a rallying point for the Helion to deny that some of us didn't escape the witch trials. They traded us in for lighter sentences, and then they wonder why the Tawch don't trust the Ministry to keep us safe."

"But the International Statute of Secrecy --"

"It was already the heart of the witch trials when the Statute was signed in 1689 and officially established by the Ministry in 1692. A little grandfather clause about breaches prior to the signing date, especially when under duress, and a little looking the other way. And", Malfoy's lips twitched but were unable to form a smile, "Hels didn't want to admit that they'd done anything wrong then, so they've staunchly maintained a blemish free innocence to this day."

Harry ran his hands through his already untidy black hair and didn't care if any of it stuck up any further. He stared at the flickering flame of the torch over Malfoy's shoulder and sighed. The First Sacrifice incident had been centuries before the witch trials, and both communities were still nursing grudges and mistrust. He supposed it was rather like the rivalry between Gryffindor and Slytherin in a more extreme, life-and-death stakes way. Hell, he wouldn't have been surprised to find out that Godric himself was a Helius and Salazar a Llwydnos from the years of relatively more cooperative coexistence. Except Salazar had chosen to leave Hogwarts to end the fighting among the Founders, except the Gwyllon could remember their ancestors dying because of the actions of the Helion, except the recent generations of Light were too caught up in conflating Dark with Death Eaters, except this was a tiny little knot of thread in a larger tapestry and very few were able to see the larger picture.

"It's", Harry sighed again as he picked up his bag and slung it over his shoulder. He looked at Malfoy, who seemed to see that this was tiredness instead of anger and who inclined his head slightly towards the door in agreement. Harry ran a hand through his hair again and tried to continue, "It's just a lot, alright? I'm not getting the benefit of years to absorb all this", he took a deep breath and spoke more to Malfoy's annoyingly neat tie than his face, "Rwy'n oedi'r wawr."

He turned away, not caring to see Malfoy's reaction, and walked towards the door. Harry ignored the farewell that sounded as if it had slipped out more from habit of replying than a conscious decision as he shut the door firmly behind him. Bloody hell, it was a lot, it was almost too much. This was as clear of a 'do not follow me' as he was going to give Malfoy right now. He turned to the left and debated the pros and cons of eating dinner in the Great Hall or stopping by the kitchens. Lavender would be stuck to Ron's side like glue at the Gryffindor table, and they'd probably only have eyes for each other. Dinner was just going to start, though, and the house elves got a bit tetchy about students asking for food during regular meal times. He could stop by the table long enough to grab something to go, and if the lovebirds were too preoccupied, Harry might be able to bring some extra food for Hermione.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not saying the hyperbolic death estimates associated with The Burning Times should be fact in a magical universe, but a part of me is rather disappointed at writing something that impacted the Wizarding world enough for them to pass an International Statute of Wizarding Secrecy off as Wendelin the Weird and her Flame-Freezing Charm fetish (she allowed herself to be caught 47 times, so I think that qualifies as a fetish).


	9. Wyvern (T)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Added to Tags: Creature Inheritance, Creature Draco Malfoy, Creature Fic

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Crossbreeds and the wyvern Malfoy line are elements from "Oath Breaker". Right now, I'm looking at Draco having a yearly mandatory shed [early Oct to line up with the Draconids because I'm just in an Astronomy Mood] and stress induced partial shedding (not literally year round, but possible at any point). Why mention this now? I don't want to leave out a scene where Harry and Draco have to deal with the shedding, but I don't have it planned out for Part One (other than some later partial stuff).
> 
> ~  
> Hanukkah will begin this upcoming Sun [2 Dec], but I didn't want to wait until the next chapter to wish any Jewish readers: Hanukkah sameach, Chag urim sameach, or Happy Hanukkah!

Tan fingers twirled the Muggle pen, flicking the clip every once in a while, and the black tipped ballpoint brushed against knuckles. The library had grown quiet as the clock ticked into quarter past dinner starting, and the only students in this area were the two Gryffindors who had laid claim to the mostly private Runology nook. Hermione, bushy hair falling into her face as she poured over a manuscript for Ancient Runes, was the only one of the two actually doing homework, and Harry was trying to not feel guilty about that. He'd pulled out a pen to write in his journal - notebook, it was still just a regular notebook - with because he was a bit afraid he might erase everything later if he tried to use a pencil.

> Mon night - Dumbledore wanted a small lesson about Tom, or rather, a lesson about how frustrating tampered memories are. Slughorn altered it (fog obscured the real events), and I'm supposed to try to get the real untampered memory from him. Tom wanted to ask about horcruxes. If Dumbledore wants to know about horcruxes, why can't I just try to research it? Do I really need to get the memory?
> 
> Slughorn's been a bit jumpy since that incident with Ron. It's not like Ron blamed him for breaking out a special mead before Hallowe'en, and it was whoever gave the mead to Slughorn that poisoned it. Thankfully I remembered the bezoar comment from HBP (it's probably why Ron wasn't as mad at me for using Sectumsempra as Hermione was). I haven't been able to talk to Slughorn outside of class since this whole blood bond started. Should I just outright ask about the memory? Would that vial of Felix Felicis work for something like this (can luck help you manipulate someone)? Maybe he'll hold a Christmas party before we leave for break. Given his fondness for drinking, I should be able to get some questions in.

Harry rubbed at his eyes and glanced down to the opposite page where he'd spread open the unfolded parchment square that had found him when he'd left the Headmaster's office. It had been floating outside the door and had automatically unfolded at his touch while he'd ridden the stone steps down to the corridor below. Malfoy's neat cursive - small left-handed script - glimmered with the pale blue of his Astronomy ink, and the paper crane had clearly been sent before Astronomy started, which at the time was about half an hour prior, _Sinistra's offer to attend class still stands even if we're not using a Proximus cover. She seems delighted by your alternative to cross-hatching_. It was clearly too late to even think about the trek to the Tower and setting up the telescope, and Harry had felt surprisingly disappointed in himself.

> Mon night - I got Dumbledore's note with a request to see him in his office at about 10 pm. I had enough time to send off a note to Malfoy, but I didn't. Maybe that's why I felt so disappointed in myself? Malfoy clearly sent a crane before class started, and Sinistra would no doubt like some sort of schedule or heads up about when I'm going to be there. And she sounded okay with the coloring sketches idea. I messed up some perfectly relaxing time to not be me for a while. ~~It also felt like I was ignoring some sort of peace offering~~

_Today (Tues) - Fuck, I wasn't ready for any sort of lessons. I haven't touched the stupid jar of acorns. I still can't match up most of the futhorc correctly (name + meaning matching is somewhat better, but that's irrelevant when you have to trace a rune to use it). I didn't ask for this, and it's almost a whole 'nother class. Lessons with Dumbledore is almost like another class. Normal classes are hard enough, but I've been trying to avoid everything else by actually doing my homework early (and doing the readings before class and pre-taking notes), so it probably doesn't look like it's all that hard from the outside._

_I just needed some time to think. How the fuck am I - a teen - supposed to convince Slughorn to hand over a decades old memory he's clearly embarrassed about? Should I ask Malfoy for help (Dark magic might have a quicker method than just asking and hoping)? But I'm not supposed to talk about Dumbledore's lessons. What do I say after getting a taste of the Helion / Tawch history on Thurs? Who can I even talk to about it? I can understand why the Tawch are so bitter, unhappy, and have held onto a grudge for so long, even if I do think Muggles shouldn't be hated or disliked for their role. But I'm not supposed to talk about Malfoy's lessons._

_
  * Hermione - Knows about the lessons but would hate me sympathizing with Muggle-haters - No
  * Ron - Can't tell him about the lessons (yet?) and he'd probably side with the Helion - NO
  * Sinistra - Don't know her well enough even if she does know about the lessons somewhat - No
  * Snape - He still dislikes me for existing (at least it's no longer hate?) - Probably not
  * Malfoy's parents? - While technically part of lessons, I think they'd rather not talk to me
  * Malfoy - Fuck, I didn't even send a crane with some sort of excuse before skiving today's lesson. There's no way he'd be in the mood to listen about this, especially not now. Probably would hold it against me for showing weakness or something, anyway.
_ 


"Harry?"

Harry froze, arms sprawled across the pages of the notebook and head bent almost close enough for his glasses to touch the paper if they shifted off his nose, and looked up over the rims of his glasses. He squinted through his fringe and blinked a couple of times feeling like he'd missed another question. He'd gotten momentarily caught up in writing, and the library was so quiet that he'd actually forgotten Hermione was sitting in the chair across the table. She glanced to the side where a large clock hung on the stone wall and back to him, speaking quietly, "I said, do you want to go get some dinner? We still have plenty of time."

"Er", Harry slid the unfolded crane in between the pages he'd been writing on and flipped the notebook closed, "I was going to grab something and bring it back, if that's alright. I didn't want to disturb your runes", he waved his hand slightly in the direction of the thick book full of various manuscripts. Hermione looked a bit surprised at the thoughtfulness, "Are you sure?"

Harry nodded and quietly pushed his chair back. He shifted his jumper and robes from the back of the chair to the notebook and lifted his bag from the floor to the seat of the chair. It clearly looked like the seat was taken, but nothing was exposed to look through, not while their year's infamous bookworm was sitting at the table and capable of launching into stress induced mini lectures on whatever she was reading about when interrupted. Harry pushed at his sleeves that had been folded up to his elbow when he'd first arrived in the library and stretched slightly as he walked through the clusters of tables and armchairs, feeling a satisfying pop in his back. He pushed open the library doors and stopped walking, taking in the scene before him.

A small ring of seventh year Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs - Harry didn't immediately recognize any of them - and in the center of the ring was a flash of green and silver tie. Malfoy was glaring at them with his arms crossed defensively over his chest. Someone was holding an unfolded piece of parchment, and Harry felt his heart stutter nervously as he realized that a note meant for him was being read aloud - "I'd appreciate forewarning if you are unable to meet for a lesson" - to a round of snickers and laughter. He took a step forward and let the doors swing shut behind him, frantically trying to think of a suitable interruption, but froze again. Malfoy had vanished?

Murmurs and whispers raced through the ring of students as they stared at one another, suspicious eyes lingering on the few students who'd been standing with wands drawn and waiting. Someone noticed Harry and took a guilty step back from the ring, and the rest looked towards him and followed suit in dispersing. The piece of parchment was crumpled when it landed on the clothes. Harry took another step forward and fought through his wariness to kneel down next to what clearly looked like robes. He picked up the parchment and slid it into the pocket of his trousers before gently poking at the top of the standard black school robes. A lump shifted and moved around for a moment before something poked its head out.

Harry frowned and stared at it, suspicious with how familiar that shade of silver the eye was. He nudged the clothing and saw the tell-tale crisp white button down shirt, black trousers, green and silver tie, and Slytherin jumper. He flipped open the flap of the satiny soft fabric of the bag next to the shoes and stared at the small silver stitches, D.L.M., before turning back to the thing. It was about as small as a grass snake with pearlescent white scales, but it had two arms and a set of gossamer thin wings. Perhaps the wings would look less fragile if they weren't tucked so close to its back, but Harry shook his head away from critiquing wing placement. He cleared his throat and glanced around to make sure that no one else was there before whispering, "Malfoy? Is that - Is that you?"

Despite the snake-like appearance, Harry couldn't understand the soft hisses, squeaks, and trills that were coming out of the creature's mouth. He narrowed his eyes as he caught sight of small pointed teeth and a tongue that was rather more dragon-like than he'd been expecting. He shrugged and placed the shoes in the top of the bag, shoving the clothing in on top without really caring how they fit inside. The creature had curled around his left wrist, and he instinctively held his arm close to his chest as he stood and slung the bag over his right shoulder. It was heavier than he'd been expecting and he grimaced as he remembered _Advanced Stargazing_. Of course, Malfoy was lugging that around on the day he happened to turn into this creature.

Harry paused as he considered where to go. Malfoy clearly needed to be transfigured back, but Professor McGonagall was likely to still be in the Great Hall. It'd also probably be quite embarrassing for the Slytherin to be taken to the Head of Gryffindor in public, especially when some of her students were in the group against Malfoy. Speaking of the Great Hall, he was supposed to be getting dinner for himself and Hermione. This situation with a not-human Malfoy wasn't one that he could ignore, though. Finally, Harry nodded his head and spoke quietly in the direction of his wrist, "We're going to be going to your Head of House, but I need to leave a note for Hermione."

He turned and opened the doors to the library while Malfoy let loose a collection of hisses and squeaks. Harry grabbed a piece of parchment off a spare desk and borrowed the quill sitting next to Madam Pince's desk. He dashed off a quick explanation, _Intercepted on the way to food. Sorry Hermione_ , and folded it into a crane. The familiar twist of a figure eight with his wand and the murmured spell, and he nodded as the paper crane began its flight into the depths of the library. He turned away from the desk and quickly left the library again, turning right and heading in the unfortunately familiar direction of Snape's office. If it weren't for Occlumency lessons last year, he probably wouldn't know the path so well, but as it was, he had the attention to spare to Malfoy. His right hand reflexively cradled the serpentine body, and he whispered at the responding squeak, "I don't know what you're saying, Malfoy. You're only part snake, and that's apparently not enough for my Parseltongue abilities."

Malfoy was silent for a moment after that, and all Harry could hear was the swish of his trousers and soft rubber-squeak of his trainers. He glanced at the torches lining the dungeon corridor and gently let his right thumb brush the top of Malfoy's head. The silver eyes narrowed slightly, but he didn't move away. Harry glanced down with a small shrug and muttered, "It usually helps snakes calm down a bit."

A half corridor more and the temperature had noticeably dropped. Harry hugged his left forearm closer to his chest and hoped that Malfoy wouldn't be so proud he'd try to freeze while cold-blooded. A left, a right, and another left, and Harry rolled his shoulders as he came to a stop at the closed door, its dark wood always a bit foreboding in his mind. He knocked and entered as the door's knob turned to swing inwards. Snape was sitting behind his desk grading essays with a bright red quill and barely glanced up, sounding immeasurably bored, "To what do I owe the pleasure, Mr. Potter?"

"Erm", Harry carefully shut the door behind him and walked closer to the desk. He held his forearm out and waited for Snape to look up before continuing, "I thought something like fourth year happened again. You know, Mad-Eye Moody changing him into a ferret, but well, I'm not sure. Malfoy left all his clothes behind", Harry trailed off at Snape's scowl. He automatically drew his arm back, and Malfoy wrapped himself a bit tighter around his wrist. The older wizard sighed and motioned to the chairs in front of his desk. Harry set Malfoy's bag in one and sat down in the other, cradling his forearm to his chest again. Snape set his quill off to the side, along with the heavily marked essay, and his dark eyes bore into Harry's, "What has Draco told you about crossbreeds?"

"Er…"

Snape sighed again and took a sip from the goblet on the corner of his desk opposite the stack of essays. He cleared his throat and tried to keep his voice even and neutral, "Centuries ago, before the accusation wound its way into witch trial evidence, a not insignificant number of Pureblood families - Helion and Tawch - engaged in crossbreeding. With the proper spells and potions, a wix could conceive a child that was part-human and part something else. It was incredibly common that Veela were sought out, but a wide range of creatures and beings could procreate with wixen. In the case of one family, it was a wyvern, which are themselves a cross between a serpent and a dragon."

Harry glanced down at the creature curled around his wrist and currently avoiding meeting his gaze and then back up to the Potions professor in front of him, "Malfoy's part wyvern?"

"The Malfoy family has been for about eight centuries now, give or take a decade."

"He goes on about blood purity", Harry's voice rose, "And he's looked down on Hagrid - and he's not even entirely human?"

Malfoy shivered slightly and wrapped his tail even more firmly around Harry's wrist. Snape replied quietly, "So many Pureblood families crossbred that it wasn't viewed as a negative. It fell out of favor among the Helion first, who formed opinions about the Tawch that didn't force their creature inheritances into a recessive trait. It's now become a crude curiosity that Hels ask about and a secret that Gwyllon prefer not to reveal."

Harry shook his head slowly and worked his jaw, "All the things Malfoy's said about half-breeds --"

Snape waved his hand dismissively while taking another sip out of his goblet, "Unfortunately, even children who grow up in Dark families can absorb some of the larger prejudices against crossbreeds, especially if they come into their creature inheritance in their teens or later in life. Among those affected, half-breed is slowly being reclaimed as a descriptor, and I think you'll find that Draco's thoughts about half-breeds have certainly changed in the years since he came into his inheritance."

Harry glanced down at Malfoy and gently laid his right thumb on top of the scaly, snake-like head. He cleared his throat slightly, "It's like shape-shifting, right?"

"When it comes to this small form, yes", Snape glanced down at Malfoy, "He has the unfortunate reflex to shift like this when scared. Once he's calmed down", Snape's voice took on a parental edge, "and stops being embarrassed with himself", the emphasis slid away, "he'll be able to shift back into a fully human form."

"Okay", Harry's finger slid along Malfoy's head in a slow rhythm, and the wyvern kept his nose tucked down into Harry's inner wrist, "Is it like being a werewolf? I mean, uncontrollable transformations."

Snape inclined his head and tapped his fingers on the top of his desk in an unrecognizable tune, "Wyvern crossbreeds have this small form, which can be intentionally and reflexively sought, and a human sized form. The larger form can be intentionally sought as well, but there does come to be times when the wyvern has no choice but to shed its skin in that form. Each wyvern experiences a different schedule, which can vary wildly from once a month to once every seven years."

Harry hummed in thought and looked across the shelves behind Snape's head to take in the jars of potions ingredients. From his limited experience with snakes, shedding their skin was an incredibly vulnerable time, and he knew that it was a matter that would entail more trust than their no-longer-a-rivalry currently held. There'd be a time when Malfoy was temporarily blind as the scales covering his eyes were shed, and it was possible he might be weak from not wanting to, or being able to, eat once his skin was fully shed. Harry gave Malfoy's smooth scales a final pet, "I can understand the desire for privacy. With enough advance warning, I'll do my best to not intrude if anything comes up in the next few years."

"Advanced warning?", Snape sounded amused despite himself. Harry nodded, "Well, I only know a bit about snakes shedding their skin, and with them, there's advanced warning. It can take anywhere from one to two weeks to finish, and I'd appreciate a warning before he avoided me for two full weeks."

Snape looked from Harry to Malfoy and back, wrestling with some opinion that he ultimately decided not to share. He finally inclined his head, "That is a matter for the two of you to discuss, but now is not the time", he looked to Malfoy with a firm expression, "I will not accept this as an excuse if you're not present for class tomorrow and fully prepared for the quiz on jinxes."

Malfoy slowly uncurled himself from Harry's wrist and half-crawled half-slid onto the top of his bag in the nearby chair. He gazed at Snape expectantly, and Snape sighed before motioning to Harry and the door, "Fine, but I'm only waiting a moment. You may talk to Mr. Potter tomorrow about anything you feel I didn't cover tonight."

Harry quickly rose to his feet and tried to not stumble as Snape ushered him out of the office. He paused and politely asked after a writing utensil. Dark eyes narrowed, but Harry found himself holding a small travel sized self-inking quill and trying to write on the back of the unfolded crane, _Dumbledore called me to a lesson last night hence missing Astronomy. It really threw me, and my first instinct was to hide instead of showing up to your lesson. Sorry. Rwy'n oedi'r wawr._ He handed the quill and the note to Snape, who didn't say anything even though an eyebrow had raised high enough to disappear among his dark hair while reading it. Harry nodded silently and started the walk back to the library, his right hand rubbing at where he could still feel the slide of scales along his left wrist.


	10. Choices (W)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Added to Ships: Lucius Malfoy / Narcissa Black Malfoy / Severus Snape  
> Added to Tags: Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Slow Burn

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lucius / Narcissa / Severus is a component from "Oath Breaker", and I've got to admit that I've grown a bit fond of this ship after reading the original series. So far, the few details are similar in this fic, but I'm hoping to get to some different stuff over the winter break.
> 
> Despite calling "The Dark Universe" a Muggle text, I am not basing it on an actual book. It's more to support a headcanon of mine that Astronomy isn't stuck in the 1600s in the Wizarding world and seems outdated to Muggles (sometimes a reoccurring fan element, but afaik, not supported in canon). I can totally see careful vetting of Muggle-borns and those raised by Muggles for being included in Muggle space programs and such.

The globes with deep red flames were bobbing and shifting in the slight breeze, and Harry rubbed his hands together as he watched the back of Malfoy's winter cloak shift while he set up his telescope. One of the wooden cases with Hogwarts stamped in large type was sitting at the space next to the Slytherin, and Harry pushed away the thought that Sinistra might've left it out before other classes. He took a deep breath and spoke quietly to the back turned toward him, "Dymunaf ar gyfer y machlud haul heno."

Malfoy paused in clipping his amplifico on, but he returned the greeting after a moment of building anticipation. Harry nodded and walked to the case, setting his bag down on the stone floor glittering with frost under his writing table. He undid the metal clasps, chilled in the November night air, and set about carefully setting up the telescope in silence. Snape had explained quite enough for Harry the night before about crossbreeds, and given the private nature of the topic, not to mention the embarrassment at shifting while scared in front of a former school rival, Malfoy would have to be the one to bring the wyvern thing up. Malfoy arranged and rearranged his workstation - _Advanced Stargazing_ propped up on the stone beside the table and weighted open by the small bottle of glimmering pale blue ink, a partially completed star chart already clipped into place, his Astronomy quill hanging from the chain that kept it from blowing away in the wind. Harry clipped his own chart into place and carefully lined up the collection of Astronomy pencils before pausing, "Do you know where the spare books are?"

"Cabinet next to the door, right shelf. Dark purple stack near the bottom."

Harry nodded and returned a moment later with the monstrous tome in both hands, wondering how secretly strong Hermione must be after years of carrying around books as heavy or heavier than this one. He propped it in the book stand and flipped to the table of contents relieved that the glimmer of Astronomy ink extended to this part of the book. His finger trailed the page - Part I: Northern Hemisphere, Ch 1: Intro to Amplificos, Ch 2: Autumnal Constellations, Ch 3: Winter Constellations, Ch 4: Vernal Constellations, Ch 5: Summer Constellations, Ch 6: Circumpolar Constellations. Harry flipped to chapter six and thumbed through until he found the large heading of Draco. He tucked the lavender bookmark in between the pages and dug around in his bag as the breeze ruffled his pages. Having planned on using his pencils, there was an unfortunate lack of an ink bottle to use as a weight, but he settled for carefully lining up the spine of his Charms book on the pages facing the wind. Never say Gryffindors couldn't adapt on the fly.

"Potter", Harry glanced over his left shoulder at Malfoy, a little surprised that he'd finally broken the silence, and followed his nod skyward. Bobbing among the glass globes above his workstation were two paper cranes. He reached out with a gloved hand towards the one with glimmering pale blue ink that had his name in Hermione's tiny print. The crane unfolded and he brought the note closer to his eyes, squinting slightly through his glasses at the even tinier print inside, _Someone couldn't find you to bother about our Charms essay due tomorrow. He's cobbling something together in the common room, and I'm half convinced he's worried about not being able to find you. Why haven't you told him about Astronomy class?_

Harry pulled a piece of parchment from his bag, thankful he'd listened to Hermione's suggestion to carry around already squared pieces, and grabbed the shortened viola pencil (poor thing got a lot of use because she liked the shade). He wrote slowly with his gloved hand, _Maybe if he wasn't glued to Lavender's lips all the time, I would've mentioned Astro. It's easier to do HW than to interfere with their "alone time" these days._

Malfoy watched the resulting crane with Hermione's name squeezed onto a wing flap against the breeze and press on towards the Tower door. He seemed amused by something, but Harry was too busy reading the second note that had unfolded in his gloved hand. Rather, he was too busy squinting at the ink that wasn't glimmering under the starlight or the red night vision flames. He tapped the parchment with his wand and whispered, "Subluceo", before the words were finally visible, _Harry, I know you're a bit busy these days, but I was wondering if you're free this Saturday for The Three Broomsticks? Ron wants to watch Ravenclaw beat Hufflepuff, but I thought you'd like a visit to Hogsmeade. - Ginny_

An unexpected pressure seemed to blossom inside Harry's chest, and he pocketed both notes with an uneasy feeling. He shoved both hands into his pockets and shifted his weight from one foot to the other before glancing at Malfoy. Malfoy was adjusting his green and silver scarf, face inclined enough that Harry could've had relative privacy for responding to the note if he wanted to. Did he want to? The pressure wiggled slightly, and Harry took a step forward so he could lower his voice, "Does the bond - er", a gloved hand worked out of his pocket to wave vaguely in the air, "Does it care about - ", he sighed at the options for describing the note. Fanmail called too much attention to The Boy Who Lived bit, but it was just as embarrassing to explain that Ginny had tried to ask him out. He stuck his hand back in his pocket with a small shrug, "Admirers."

Malfoy snickered but bit back a full laugh once Harry had raised his head to glare into the silver flashing red eyes. The other boy coughed and shifted his weight slightly before responding in an equally low voice, "A little piece of fanmail isn't going to set off some sort of reaction, Potter. The bond primarily works on us, not other people", Malfoy's winter cloak shifted as he turned to needlessly smooth out the edge of his parchment sticking past the clips, "That is unless the bond registers infidelity before the wedding ceremony stabilizes it. There's plenty of historical precedent for extramarital arrangements for both spouses in arranged marriages, but they have to wait until the bond relaxes."

Harry nodded stiffly and turned to look at his own star chart. Bloody Draco. This was not where he had meant to lead the conversation, and the elephant in the room would hopefully be ignored. Coming to the Tower tonight was supposed to be a truce of sorts, a way to coexist without arguing about something. Harry shifted slightly in the awkward silence and realized it felt awkward because there were seeds for insults being looked over in favor of the silence. Malfoy could just as easily make a snide remark about fame and secret admirers and girls lining up for the chance to be his 'extramarital arrangement', and Harry could just as easily scoff at the loyalty and monogamy of half-breeds or the Dark community in general when they had clear historical precedent against it. Instead, Harry arranged his pencils into a glimmering rainbow order, and Malfoy cleared his throat slightly before almost whispering, "Extramarital arrangements aren't synonymous with affairs. Arranged marriages were as much about political and business partnerships as producing an heir, so those other arrangements were often the person a Llwydnos would've married for love. If you're willing to wade through the copious legal paperwork involved, it's actually not illegal to marry a second person, providing both spouses consent to the change in their blood bond."

"Oh", Harry mentally kicked himself at sounding so stupid. This was a situation that warranted actual words as responses. Malfoy didn't seem to pay attention to the soft exhalation and continued quietly, "It's not quite as common these days, but it does still happen in some of the traditional Pureblood families. My father apparently didn't have much choice in resisting his arranged marriage to Mother, so he waited until my grandfather had passed to marry his other spouse. Grandfather disapproved of him, my godfather."

"Your mother didn't mind?", Harry couldn't quite keep the disbelief out of his question. Narcissa Malfoy very much seemed like the type of witch who would mind being told her husband was marrying someone. Malfoy made a noncommittal noise, "She connected with my godfather over brewing potions and helping each other through my infancy. I've heard I was quite the screamer, and it was the ability to blow up a few cauldrons that kept them sane while Father was busy with work. Mother's connections to the dragon parts trade definitely didn't get overlooked with how hard those ingredients can be to come by. I wouldn't say they love each other romantically, but they're as important to each other as my father is to them."

"Well", Harry cleared his throat and jammed his hands deeper into the pockets of his winter cloak, "I'm going to avoid The Three Broomsticks this Saturday. I don't have the time for the legalese to get another spouse."

Malfoy chuckled at the attempt at forced humor, and the wiggling pressure in Harry's chest relaxed away. He glanced down at the little tip box in the corner of the page and squinted at _Advanced Stargazing_. With an unconscious tilt of his head, Harry addressed the nearest red globe, "What's this about meteoroid constellations?"

"Standard meteor showers appear to originate from a point within or near a constellation", Malfoy's voice had risen enough to leave the tension and eggshells from before in the quiet past, "Chapter seven goes into more detail and shows how to mark the origin point. The Draconids peaked in early October, but the party this weekend should be good. The Leonids -- "

"Party?"

"Meteor shower viewing party", Malfoy's tone had relaxed into neutral recitation, "The last one of the term is in December for the Geminids. Professor Sinistra sets up armchairs with Warming Charms and we try not to fall asleep, basically. Typically, the best viewing time is between midnight and 4 am, but we don't stay out that late when a meteor shower peaks during the week", almost as an afterthought, he added, "It's a chance for extra credit set out in the syllabus."

"Didn't think you'd need extra credit in Astronomy of all subjects."

Malfoy sniffed at the barbless jibe, "The viewing parties are only offered this term, and you never know how the spring term will pan out. It's better to be prepared and not truly need the credit than to realize it's too late to make up for poor marks on an essay. Some of us", he handled the sarcastic emphasis with the graceful finesse of a swordsman in his element, "have to do more than fill in star charts in this class, Potter."

"Now that you mention it", Harry and Malfoy both turned to look over their shoulders at Professor Sinistra, a surprisingly imposing figure while dressed in thick lilac robes that reflected the red globe light in a bright bloody shade. She strode into the classroom and took a steadying breath of the cold night air before turning her dark eyes on Harry, "It is possible to come up with a revised schedule if Mr. Potter would like a delayed admission to the class. A little extra work over winter break, and you should be right on track with the rest of the students come spring."

"Er", Harry watched the puffy cloud of his breath dissipate in the starlight, "I think I should meet with Professor McGonagall, my Head of House, before accepting. It is awfully late in the term to jump in without thinking", his eyes narrowed at the hint of a smirk tugging at the witch's mouth, but he opted for the less offensive route at the inter-House humor, "Gotta be careful with my allotment of Gryffindor bravado this year, Professor."

Professor Sinistra's laugh was loud and heartfelt, and she shook her head slightly before straightening her robes. The other students had slowly begun to file into the Tower's circular teaching space with cases in hand. The brief flickers of red that caught in their eyes revealed their curiosity, but they turned to their own writing tables with scrolls of parchment in hand, and Harry felt a small bubble of appreciation for their ability to not rush in with eagerness when he was around. The class was mostly Ravenclaws, and as long as Harry didn't drastically disturb their ability to fill in their star charts, they left him and Malfoy and whatever was going on alone. Professor Sinistra nodded to him before turning to the ring of students, an undercurrent of amusement still present in her voice, "Alright class, a reminder about the Muggle text _The Dark Universe_. I've finished grading your work from Part I: ‘The Stellar Graveyard’ and some of what's been turned in so far for Part II: ‘Dark Matter’. I will be returning your tests and essays next week, and successful revisions over winter break will earn partial credit. You should be ready for a quiz on the intro to Part III: ‘Cosmology and Dark Energy’ next week, and if that caught you off guard, I'd suggest brushing up on the schedule provided in your syllabi."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There's a slight canon divergence away from Harry / Ginny. Honestly, I haven't gotten to a point where I've worked out some of the background ships for the future material, though I am fond of Ginny / Luna. It'll probably get mentioned at some point, but that's future-me's problem for now.


	11. Ashwinder (Th)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> No updates to characters, ships, or tags.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My beta is a good irl friend of mine, so I already knew she wasn't exactly comfortable with snakes. I initially put a trigger warning on this in my version shared with her, and just in case, someone has made it this far who is equally uncomfortable or ophidiophobic: There's going to be a brief comparison to a choking / strangling feeling when Ouroboros as the ashwinder is around Harry's throat, but No One Gets Hurt.

" ** _Dymunaf ar gyfer y machlud haul heno._** "

Harry opened his eyes, blinking and rubbing the heels of his palms against them to clear away the blurriness. He shook his head slightly and realized after a few more seconds that the blurry surroundings were themselves blurry, smoldering reeds and gently curling smoke. Green eyes flickered down, expecting to see the dark wood of the circular table in the Room of Requirement, and Harry pushed his glasses up further on his nose with a slight frown when he saw his own trouser legs sitting cross-legged on the ground. He usually wasn't this self-aware in a dream, but he had no idea where else he might be given the questionable surroundings.

" ** _Down here, Seeker_** ", Harry looked down near his right hand, resting lightly on a pile of ashes, and blinked at the pale gray form. It shook itself slightly, dark ashes falling off its back, and Harry nodded to the ashwinder silently, " ** _I am Ouroboros, Seeker. Dymunaf ar gyfer y machlud haul heno._** "

" ** _Dymunaf ar gyfer y machlud haul heno_** ", Harry coughed slightly as he rushed to return the greeting. He could grumble about wasting time on recitation all he wanted, but the main benefit was the automatic response of returning the Brythonic greeting and farewell. Harry cleared his throat and motioned to the closest clump of smoldering reeds, " ** _Er, where are we?_** "

" ** _The past_** ", Ouroboros wiggled its thin body in the ashes on the ground and seemed to stretch in a content manner. Harry nodded wordlessly at the vague memory from Care of Magical Creatures that ashwinders were accustomed to living in the ashes of fires. Not too surprising with a name like that. He ran his fingers through the fine, almost soft crumbling ash and looked at the dark gray smudges left on his fingertips. Ouroboros gave an encouraging hiss, " ** _We are in your past, Seeker. From ashes you have come, and to ashes you will return_** ", it paused and cocked its head slightly, tail curling among the ashes and tracing two futhorc runes, " ** _We must mark the beginning._** "

Harry raised his hand towards his forehead and rested his smudged fingertips next to the lightning bolt scar. He pulled his fingers down and returned to the top of the line to finish copying out the pattern of the futhorc rune on his own skin in ashes as he quietly breathed, " ** _Ēar is horrible to every knight_** \-- "

"-- **_when the corpse quickly begins to cool and is laid in the bosom of the dark earth_** ", small gray eyes blinked away the debris of falling ash. Harry sighed and ran his hand up through his hair, not really caring if there were lingering traces of ash. Something was still burning nearby and little off-white flakes were falling over the two of them anyways. He sighed again, " ** _It always starts with my parents and something I can barely remember. My mum's love protected me, but everyone keeps acting like I actually knew them before they died._** "

" ** _You worry about what they would think of you._** "

Harry shrugged and uncrossed his legs, pulling his knees close to his chest and folding his arms across the top of his trousers. He rested his chin on a forearm and looked at the dark brown, almost black earth in front of them that was scorched by the recent fire. He murmured, " ** _I know they weren't perfect or anything, especially my dad. They would understand the nuance of doing good and bad things instead of being a good person or a bad person._** "

" ** _Are you afraid you are not a good person, Seeker?_** "

" ** _Dunno_** ", Harry lifted his head and stretched his neck, hearing a satisfying pop, " ** _From the way people talk, my parents were part of the Helion, and yet, I'm_** ", he waved his hand in the air and disturbed the path of a smoke ring while searching for the words to describe how divided he felt, " ** _I'm expected to fight and defeat Voldemort like a Hel would, but I'm sorta being introduced to the Tawch._** "

" ** _The Tawch owes no allegiance to the Dark Lord. A Llwydnos could just as easily defeat him_** ", Harry stared down at the snake, camouflaged perfectly on the ground next to him. He chewed at his bottom lip, " ** _I'm not a Llwydnos, though?_** "

Ouroboros nudged the edge of Harry's shoe, and he automatically reached out with his right hand to gently swipe across the top of the snake's head a few times. The snake withdrew slightly and its tongue flicked out to taste the air, " ** _You do not have to be born into the Tawch to be a Llwydnos, Seeker. You are learning from Mate_** ", its gaze unwove the glamour around his left hand, and Harry looked down at the ring. He whispered, a little uncertain to be telling an intelligent magical snake something personal, " ** _He's not the person I thought I knew. All these years, we've been at odds, and now he's, well, different._** "

" ** _A snake doesn't shed its skin in one day_** ", the ashwinder nodded sagely, and Harry found himself smiling at the serpentine advice. He ran his right thumb over the back of his left hand, covering the thin white scars from Umbridge's nights of detention with the Black Quill - I must not tell lies - with the dark gray lines of the next rune Ouroboros had traced on the ground, " ** _Ethel, family._** "

" ** _Inheritance_** ", the snake hissed in reply, " ** _That which is passed on through blood. You can join Mate in the Tawch. Mate does not have to remain stuck in your old ideas - black and white, good and evil. He is gray, ashes to return to._** "

Harry sighed and ran his right hand across the back of his neck. Trust some clearly old, magical snake to be giving him advice on the futility of trying to continue to hate who Malfoy used to be. Yes, he'd been arrogant, bigoted, and convinced his family could do no wrong based on some archaic blood hierarchy, but he'd changed. A creature inheritance and a new half-breed designation. Years of learning about Muggles. Harry wasn't entirely sure when he'd last heard Malfoy make a comment about Hermione or other Muggle-born witches and wizards, which could've been a sign of improvement or Malfoy's newly found civility with him. He hadn't really ever experienced Malfoy's civil, polite side before, and he wasn't so mired in the Gryffindor-Slytherin rivalry to want to intentionally resort to old habits. It was still too new, so sudden to accept their acquaintanceship without doubts. Then again, how often do you accidentally marry someone because of archaic blood magic?

" ** _Generosity brings credit and honour, which support one's dignity; | it furnishes help and subsistence | to all broken men who are devoid of aught else_** ", the gentle high and low of hissing seemed to dance as the ashwinder recited the rune poem. Harry nodded to himself and traced the 'X' in the ashes on the ground beside the snake's tail, " ** _Gyfu, gift._** "

The snake laid its ashy head across the back of Harry's knuckles, and he looked into its pale gray eyes, almost silver really. It cocked its head to the side and flicked its tongue over his skin, " ** _You cannot live in the past with the scorched earth. Ashes fertilize the soil and promote growth, new life, gifts from the future. Can you accept a gift from the Tawch?_** "

" ** _I reckon I can_** ", Harry shook his head as his brain supplied the echo of a winter long ago when Dumbledore warned him against visiting the Mirror of Erised. Ouroboros gazed intently at his lips, and he slowly pressed his fingers into the ashes piled around him before raising his fingers to his lips and smearing the crossed lines over his mouth. He reflexively swallowed and consciously reminded himself that licking his lips would not be a good idea right now. His mouth was already dry from the parched air, and ashes would only make things worse. The snake nodded and started to slither up Harry's arm, scales gliding over skin and fabric smoothly, as it hissed, " ** _Earth to earth, ashes to ashes, dust to dust._** "

The smooth scales slid around his throat, much warmer than he'd expected, and Harry gasped at the shift of muscles. Ashwinders weren't constrictors, but the snake was still so close to skin and tendons and blood vessels that his brain blanked in panic. He drew another quick breath in and coughed, gagging on the crumbling warmth of ashes filling his mouth. This was certainly not how Harry had pictured himself dying, and it was a bit soon for the returning to ashes bit in his opinion. His eyes squeezed shut, hoping the smoldering reeds and scorched earth weren't going to be the last thing he saw, and then his body was jerking uncontrollably to the side.

Harry's eyes flew open, and he coughed, one hand flying to his neck to check for a snake. He squinted as he sat up from where his arms had sprawled across the dark wood table of the Room of Requirement, his cheek buried into the crook of an elbow. A hand ran through his hair, feeling for the familiar metal frames and readjusting them down onto his nose. Fingers brushed over his forehead and across his lips, but there were no traces of ashes, and the back of his left hand only had the thin white scars across it. There was a lingering echo in his head, a deep hiss, " ** _Rwy'n oedi'r wawr_** ", on repeat. After a few seconds, Harry croaked out a hesitant, "Rwy'n oedi'r wawr", to the empty room and sighed at the ensuing silence in his head. He reached down into his bag and pulled out the notebook that was turning into a journal and a regular pencil because bloody fuck, what a dream.

"Dymunaf ar gyfer y machlud haul heno", Harry jumped slightly at the deep greeting, but he nodded in the direction of Mate - no, Malfoy in human speak - and quietly parroted, "Dymunaf ar gyfer y machlud haul heno."

"Don't tell me you're already starting on the outline for Transfiguration?", Malfoy's gentle tease prodded Harry away from his train of thought, and he blinked down at the page, trying to remember the order of what Ouroboros had said before the quasi-choking end of the dream. Ashes, dust, earth? He glanced up through his fringe, "Hmm? Oh, no", he dashed out the correct order and quickly closed the notebook, "Trying to write about a dream so I can forget about it tonight."

Malfoy hummed slightly but didn't pursue the line of conversation further. With Harry's history of visions that could come true or bone-chilling nightmares, he was probably avoiding asking about particulars for peace of mind. Harry shook his head slightly and dropped the notebook and pencil back into his bag before turning back to look his fellow student in the eye. Pale gray irises, similar to the ashwinder's, were surrounded by lilac bruises, and Harry shivered at the memory of Malfoy explaining how he died ancestor's deaths in nightmares. It would do well to talk about anything other than their sleep issues at the moment. A polite incline of the head and the Slytherin opened the lesson, "Have you been practicing with the acorns?"

Harry shrugged and shifted in the chair, pushing at his already rolled up sleeves without thinking. He finally pulled the jar out of his bag and set it on the table without looking at Malfoy. There'd been no change in the level of acorns with the jar, and the only trees within the Room were the ones created the week before. Harry slowly looked up at Malfoy as he tsked softly, and the blond casually pointed at the tree he'd created previously. Green eyes followed the line across the room, and he inhaled quickly as he watched a bubbling in the center of the tree devolve into a charred hole clean through to the other side. Malfoy lowered his hand and motioned to the jar, "Now you'll have to make more targets."

Harry's jaw clenched slightly, but he didn't say anything as he calmly reached forward and unscrewed the lid of the jar. He stood and carried it away from the table, enough so that they wouldn't be in danger of another Whomping Willow sprawling across their stuff, and set an acorn down on the floor. He concentrated on a small tree growing and said, "Prifio", confidently. It was a much slower process than accidentally setting the willow loose last time, but after a few deep breaths, a respectable tree about five feet high was sitting on the floor. Malfoy stood from his chair and walked around the tree slowly before pausing opposite from Harry and nodding his approval. He then waved his hand at it and stated clearly, "Creisioni."

The tree burst into flames that licked up the limbs quickly and only left a pile of ashes behind. Harry shivered at the memory of the ashen place with Ouroboros, but Malfoy simply flicked his wand to Vanish it and gestured to the now empty floor. Harry put another acorn down and repeated the process. Another incidence of bubbling leaving a gaping hole - Brwd apparently boiled the tree - and Harry created another tree, slightly shorter than before. Malfoy settled into a rhythm with Rhwygo, which tore trees apart into large chunks or tiny splinters. It didn't matter how thick the tree was, how short, how many branches intertwined into a barrier, or whether spines curled their way up the bark. By the fifth tree, Harry was starting to feel the cool whisper of shadows within him react faster, and the trees were growing more smoothly, following the images in his mind's eye easily.

By the eighth tree, the Gryffindor was out of patience and tossed the acorn into the air and growled the command to grow. The shoot sprouted into thick bark and limbs tangled skyward as the acorn's trajectory was followed by the mat of roots. Malfoy hummed and held his hand out to tear the little tree apart when it had stopped swaying from the force of landing. He spread the resulting pieces in a semi-circle around himself instead of Vanishing them and held up his hand to stop Harry from reaching into the jar for another acorn. Pale thin fingers twirled the pale wood of his hawthorn wand with ease, as Malfoy spoke, "This time I'm going to use a shield, and you're going to try to attack by growing one of these pieces of wood towards me. Understand?"

Harry nodded and set the jar down on the floor, shaking his arms out and holding his hands in front of his body. He wasn't Ravenclaw enough to care about the magical theory behind why Brythonic didn't need a wand to act as a conduit for magic, but he did find that some sort of hand motion helped with focus. Malfoy nodded and held his non-wand hand out palm up. With a sharp turn of his wrist, his palm was facing up and out, and he calmly said, "Caer."

An insubstantial looking mist seemed to surround him, and Harry focused on bending each growing tree in the direction of the almost-gray surface. He couldn't grow more than one tree at a time, but after a few steadying deep breaths, Harry could get the branches of two trees to grow in the desired direction in unison. Malfoy watched each tree sprout up from the wooden pieces and patiently waited until all trees were at least in existence before shifting his shield. The pale gray mass inched forward to a tree, and Harry's jaw clenched as he watched the limbs start to buckle and bend back towards himself. He concentrated on pushing the growth towards the barrier, and a slow undulation formed in the tree branch as it glided forwards and back while caught in between opposing forces. A part of Harry's mind couldn't help but find the twisting limb fascinating, but he finally lost his concentration when a surprisingly sharp cramp tore through his stomach.

Harry blinked as the branch was sharply pushed in his direction, but he shook his head as he felt the inner shadows twist uncomfortably. Oh, Malfoy hadn't been exaggerating when he said there could be pain from built up residue. He took a hesitant step towards the table but turned despite himself towards a noise. Malfoy had ended his shield and was framing a spigot with his hands. It was a fairly standard looking washbasin set up, and Harry slowly walked to the other side of the room while trying to ignore the deep burning sensation in his muscles. He felt like he'd just tried to run around the entire castle except the dull ache was spreading to his abdomen and lower back, which typically made it through running without this same level of exhaustion.

"Dychwelaf cysgodion i'r noson", Harry said as evenly as he could after turning the water on and letting the thin stream run over his palms. He tried to not stutter and repeated the phrase after a few breaths. He closed his eyes instead of watching pitch black water trail off his fingers. It was like someone was pouring a bottle of ink over his hands and a little unnerving to watch. Harry quietly repeated the phrase, over and over, his voice lowering into a whisper. The rise and fall was almost like a chant, and he finally opened his eyes to watch ashy gray water continue to drip off of him when the very last dregs of pain had disappeared from his aching muscles. His mind turned to the ashwinder, but he scoffed at his own thought, quite sure that dreams could not be connected to recaning.

"Ahem", Malfoy's voice came from Harry's left and he turned that way as he shut the water off. Furrowed brows, silver eyes narrowed in suspicion, arms folded over his jumper even while leaning one hip against his own sink. Malfoy had clearly already finished because one dry hand uncrossed to hold out a pale blue hand towel, and Harry took it instead of wiping his hands on his trousers. He set the towel across the edge of his basin and turned back towards the table, not quite feeling connected to all of his muscles as he walked over to his bag. He settled his red rimmed jumper across the top of his bag and swung the strap over his shoulder. He draped his robes over an arm and turned towards the door, feeling hollow. No, mechanic, like his body was moving on autopilot. It wasn't until he was sinking into the warm red sheets in the boys dormitory that Harry remembered he'd forgotten to say goodbye.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Ear](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ear_\(rune\)) on center of forehead (death).  
> [Ethel](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Odal_\(rune\)) on back of left hand (family).  
> [Gyfu](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gyfu) over the mouth (gift).
> 
> I've used Black Quill here, but it seems like a common fanon tweak of sorts to refer to Umbridge's quill as the Blood Quill because it uses the writer's blood as ink. I'm aware this is a relatively small detail, but I debated calling something a Blood Quill for a bit. So, just to be clear, in case I bring that back from the plot graveyard.


	12. Leonids (F/S)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> No updates to characters, ships, or tags.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> An extra chapter this week. It's technically not a holiday or anything, but today [16 Dec] would've been my grandfather's birthday (he passed in late Sept of this year).
> 
> If anyone hasn't noticed yet, I've taken some inspiration from university courses when writing NEWT level classes and some of the academic details (auditing a course, the length of the assignments, professors having office hours, and such).

"It's not a requirement that you stay."

Harry arched his back and wiggled slightly in the dark green armchair, murmuring, "Shouldn't've brought it up if you didn't want me to come."

A deep sigh came from the armchair to the right of Harry, but he didn't bother with glancing over at Malfoy. It'd just be his slightly pointy features tense with annoyance, and he had no inclination to take that negativity in right now. It was a meteor shower viewing party, goddamnit, and Harry was going to see at least one shooting star before admitting defeat and crawling into his bed in Gryffindor Tower. He pushed his glasses further up his nose and half-mumbled, "Thought there'd be more people at this party, anyways."

"As the term progresses, more and more students stop showing up to optional events", Professor Sinistra's quiet yet clear voice came from Harry's left. He hummed and readjusted his winter cloak over his legs, even though the Warming Charms on the upholstery were currently doing well enough to fight against the night chill. A slight rustle of parchment and scratch of a quill were the only signs that Professor Sinistra was grading essays by the deep red light of a few glass globes near her armrests. The rest of the globes had filed into a cabinet inside the Tower while she'd set up the armchairs after class. Professor Sinistra continued conversationally, "Have you met with Minerva?"

"Er", Harry's fingers twitched in his pocket, and he kept his eyes glued to the night sky above him, "I haven't had the time yet."

"Minerva has office hours on Thursdays, and I've already met with her myself to discuss this."

"Well", Harry cleared his throat, feeling more self-conscious than he'd ever admit to, "I accidentally slept about ten hours last night. Feeling the ache of too much shadow residue for the first time kinda made me dead to the world for a while."

"I thought that might be why you were so quiet and spacey", Malfoy whispered, "But I should've made sure before you left. Some experience more severe side effects than oversleeping."

A scratch of the quill and a hum, "I'm surprised Severus didn't press the importance of monitoring a student for signs of residual build up."

"I've been", Malfoy paused for a moment and kept his voice low, "Well, I've been trying to avoid Sev's help with a different matter, and I guess it's bled over into this."

"Severus wouldn't offer his assistance if he wasn't prepared to actually do so", Professor Sinistra sounded unimpressed with the excuse, and Malfoy didn't reply for several moments. Harry concentrated on the wide expanse of small, bright dots in the inky blackness. They both clearly had different relationships with Snape than he did, so it was better that he didn't speak right now. Malfoy acquiesced, "I've been trying to prove that I could complete a particular task on my own, but I should accept Sev's help. The results of my failure would be unpleasant to say the least."

A small flash of white careened across the sky, and Harry briefly wondered if he should go ahead and leave, so he could sleep like a part of his mind and body still wanted to. Ten hours had been enough for him to feel like a semi-cognizant human being in classes today, but he could still do with a good lie in tonight. He fiddled with the hem of his cloak and broke the bubble of silence, hoping that talking would help keep him awake, "So, what exactly would I need for NEWT level Astronomy?"

"You're free to use one of the telescope and amplifico kits provided by Hogwarts", Professor Sinistra clicked her tongue and made a slightly exasperated noise at the essay she was marking, "There's a discount on the bundle of books at Flourish & Blotts, so I highly suggest taking advantage of that, but you're welcome to keep borrowing _Advanced Stargazing_ until winter break."

"What about that book you brought up on Wednesday? _The Dark Universe_ and the revisions?", Harry tried to not sound nervous, but he could distinctly remember her talking about there being three parts to the book.

"I can assign the work over break, and you'll have a slightly different revision schedule", Professor Sinistra sounded surprisingly confident, but Harry still had a few doubts. Reading an entire book and doing all of the work over the break? What if any other professor assigned homework as well?

"The reading questions and essays aren't horrible per se, as long you approach them in chunks."

"Thank you, Captain Obvious", Harry muttered under his breath before resuming at a volume that was easier to hear, "Cramming the whole book's worth of assignments into the break just sounds like a bit much is all."

"Part IV: ‘Life in a Dark Universe’ is not assigned reading this term", a slight clearing of the throat, "I offer that work to students over Easter break as extra credit in the spring. We're only just starting Part III in December, so you won't be as far behind the rest of the students as you feel."

"Oh", another shooting star raced across the sky, "What about the star charts I've missed?"

"Autumnal and Circumpolar", Malfoy sighed quietly, "Well, except for Draco."

"It won't be a problem to make up the circumpolar constellations", Professor Sinistra rolled the scroll of parchment shut and opened a new one, "You'll have to complete the autumnal constellations next fall."

"But what about next year's work?", Harry's heart was thudding uncomfortably, and the tight bubble of concern - okay, proper anxiety - wasn't exactly helped by the professor's noncommittal noise. She scratched something on the essay, "Seventh year NEWT students work through Part II of _Advanced Stargazing_ , the constellations of the Southern hemisphere."

"Er…how?"

"Draco, if you wouldn't mind", the quill continued to scratch away as Malfoy spoke quietly, "Well, the amplificos we're working with are basically standard magnifying glasses with some magical assistance. With the appropriate version of an amplifico and the necessary math to configure where you should point your telescope in your hemisphere, you can see the constellations in another."

"This is probably in the intro chapter, isn't it?", Harry felt the same defeat that Hermione explaining something that was clearly written in the introduction inspired. Malfoy hummed agreement, "We'll use an amplifico australis while students in the Southern hemisphere will use an amplifico borealis."

"You have to wait until a university class to use an amplifico tempora, which will allow you to view a different season", the quill didn't stop scratching as Professor Sinistra spoke, "Awfully tricky to calibrate those are, but brilliant for research. Most uni students only look a year forward or back at most. Thank Buddug they were approved for my dissertation."

"Up for a summary of how Chinese, Indian, and Islamic astronomers basically created the amplificos we use today, even if they got a bit tetchy about magical copyright?"

"I think I'd rather try my hand at reading entrails, Malfoy."

Malfoy's snicker was swallowed by Professor Sinistra's loud, heartfelt laugh, and Harry couldn't help but chuckle with them. He shifted and sunk deeper into the armchair while letting his eyes unfocus slightly in the direction of the Wain. Another meteor flashed across the night sky, and he nodded to himself. Regardless of how the Gryffindor felt about his aptitude for Dark magic and straddling the Light and Dark communities, he had a feeling he could hang with the Tawch for a little while on grounds of shared, inappropriate humor at least.


	13. Maintenance II (M)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Added to Tags: Neutral Malfoys

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Me, having flashbacks to particular 10 page minimum Final Papers: Book!Ron and Book!Harry bitch about one foot assignments. Like that's barely over a page, depending on spacing. NEWT level work is stealing from classes where one large assignment is due by the end of the class that's equivalent to ten pages. Earn your bitching, Ron.

Harry slowly buttered his toast while staring at the red lines of the Muggle paper before him. After continuing to oversleep over the weekend, he'd woken up absurdly early this morning and hadn't been able to fall back asleep, no matter how long he laid staring at the red folds of the canopy above his bed. The early breakfast hours were peacefully quiet as the small collection of students and professors kept mostly to themselves while eating and drinking copious amounts of tea. Harry had been slightly surprised that the kettle that appeared in front of him was much stronger than he usually took his tea in the later breakfast hour, but he supposed it was helpful for the ones who were scowling at partially completed essays and looked to be glaring at the books in front of them. The Gryffindor nudged his journal to the side and turned his attention to evenly spreading raspberry jam across his toast.

 _Delayed Admission to NEWT Astro_ was printed across the top line and carefully underlined in the regular dark gray of his graphite pencil. The pros column was rather small - Enjoyable class (Sinistra), interesting subject matter, already attending classes. The cons were a bit more lengthy, and Harry was getting caught up in how easy it was to list off every reason he shouldn't add the class. Late sign up, more work in less time (extra summer assignment a possibility?), Astro isn't necessary for most jobs, directly contradicts Dumbledore's request to keep evenings free for lessons with him, explaining why he was adding a class to Ron, adding in the pressure of essays and tests would reduce the relaxing quality of the class, he might have to learn cross-hatching, and Harry would undoubtedly have to spend more time with Malfoy (borrowing his copy of _The Dark Universe_ for starters). Nibbling the corner of his toast, tan fingers slowly shifted to the pro column and copied the note on spending time with Malfoy (they were much more civil when it came to this topic, and it was almost easy to slip into the truce of acquaintances).

A small hoot caught Harry's attention, and he glanced up through his dark hair to the nondescript barn owl sitting in front of him. It had a letter tied to one leg, which was clearly why it had shown up in the Great Hall, but it was also eyeing the platter of bacon with a somewhat wistful look in its large eyes. Harry broke off a small piece from the closest end of crispy bacon and set it in front of the owl while untying the letter. The owl shifted its wings slightly and took off with the slightest of drafts after finishing its reward, and Harry barely spared a glance to watch it disappear in the direction of the Owlery. He looked down at the thick creamy parchment of the envelope and recognized the Headmaster's curlicue writing. The letter inside was brief: 

> Harry --  
>  I'm afraid I can't go into more detail in owl post, but Mr. Malfoy has agreed to assist us in fighting Tom in exchange for your further education. A ceremony with appropriate secrecy vows is necessary; planning is under way as I write. It should happen before winter break commences, but I'm afraid it's safer to deliver the specifics in person. Please feel free to stop by my office if you need to discuss anything - **Ignis aurum probat** will work regardless of time of day (or night).

Harry carefully reread the letter and folded it before turning back to his list. He supposed it wasn't a gigantic surprise that Malfoy wanted some sort of secrecy vow before teaching him anything else relating to the Tawch and Dark magic. The Slytherin had seemed to bite his tongue and hold back from speaking at certain points when it came to history and talking about Hels. Harry took a sip of his pumpkin juice and twirled the pencil between his fingers, not wanting to poke at the feelings of resignation. The ceremony was practically a done deal according to Dumbledore's letter, and he did want to find out what Malfoy might be keeping to himself. Ouroboros had all but encouraged him to embrace the Tawch and learning their brand of magic, but it still felt like those moments after building up too much shadow residue - mechanical. No one else knew about the snake that dropped by the Room of Requirement and made that Gyfu offer, and yet, they were already planning the ceremony, confident that he'd just go along with the plan. Shouldn't somebody have stopped to ask him if he wanted to go ahead with the ceremony?

Fuck it. Harry scrawled _YES_ at the bottom of the column for pros to signing up for Astronomy. If The Chosen One couldn't choose his own damn class, someone else would have to deal with it. He was still within the reasonably suggested number of NEWT classes, and maybe it'd be good to immerse himself in a subject that wasn't directly related to fighting Voldemort or preparing him for being an Auror. Wasn't taking an elective a thing that normal students did? Harry was sure he could convince Hermione to support the suggestion, even if she pushed the limits of NEWT classes in an unhealthy way, and he confidently finished off the piece of toast with his mind made up. He would ask Professor McGonagall if she had a free slot in her office hours that afternoon before this morning's Transfiguration class started. Harry brushed off his fingers and unfolded Dumbledore's letter, smoothing out the crease with an opposing fold, before setting it on the bottom half of the page of the notebook in front of him. A quick Sticking Charm and a note of the date the letter was received later, and he'd left his thoughts succinctly in the few lines left at the bottom of the page, _They could've at least asked before starting to plan_.

Harry straightened his spine while closing the notebook, feeling rather than hearing the small pop in his lower back, and rolled his shoulders as he looked around the Gryffindor table. It was still rather early in the block of time for breakfast, and the closest student was a small second year about halfway down the table. Harry peeled off his jumper with a small sigh and prodded at his tie, which was rarely happy at being jostled around in his never ending battle with removing his jumper in the face of prolonged sitting. The school jumper never bothered him when he was moving around, but it just seemed to shrink and constrict the longer he sat at a desk. Harry admitted his uniform wasn't going to be in top shape for morning classes and went ahead and rolled his sleeves up to his elbows. He could set everything into proper order and put his jumper back on after lunch when he had to prepare to walk down to the greenhouses for Herbology. A careful roll of the jumper and it was at the bottom of his bag and cushioning his spare parchment with his robes tucked over the top of the bag and around the strap, firmly safe for walking down the corridors.

"You're up early", a quiet comment almost made into a question with how the voice raised slightly at the end. Harry looked up at Ron, who looked surprisingly put together with his neatly knotted tie and both his jumper and school robes still on. Ron slid into the space to Harry's left on the bench and slowly began to set food on his plate - scrambled eggs, sausages, a piece of toast soon to be spread with apple butter. Bright green eyes narrowed at the carefully controlled speed, and Harry turned his head to look at Ron. The redhead was gearing up for something because he was only this slow of an eater in the face of nerves or his mother glaring at him. And barring an invisibility cloak, Mrs. Weasley wasn't around. Ron's freckles seemed to stand out more than usual, and he finally took a deep breath before blurting out, "I shouldn't've been such a prat earlier."

"Er", Harry slid his notebook in his bag and tried to stall. Weasleys had a habit of bottling emotions until they figured out what to do with them, so the usage of earlier wasn't exactly helpful. Ron could've been talking about something from the start of term, yesterday, the past month. Harry ran a hand through his hair, thoughtlessly, "About what?"

Ron pointedly looked down at Harry's left hand before pouring himself a goblet of pumpkin juice. He cleared his throat and leaned in closer to whisper, "The Accident", before leaning back and taking a large gulp of the juice. Harry glanced down to make sure the glamour was still in place and picked up a second piece of toast, suddenly needing to do something with his hands. Ron took a relatively small bite and continued with a much clearer food-mumble than usual, "Hermione had to explain that the Celtic knot test was real and impossible to fake. Something about entirely unique DNA in blood. Anyways, she explained that it was easier to tag along to Malfoy's Astronomy class than fighting the proximity charm, but well, you obviously didn't want to talk about that when I was joking around."

"Yeah", Harry continued to spread an even coat of butter over his toast, "We've had to work out a truce because it actually is uncomfortable when we avoid it each other for too long. I'm hoping it's only temporary, but one day at a time", his voice lowered slightly as he gave an unnecessary extra swipe across the corner of the toast, "Turns out Malfoy's not half bad when you have to get to know him. Never knew he could be so civil."

Ron snorted and dug into his eggs with a little more of his usual gusto, "Ferret doesn't have much of a choice when the proximity charm's working on him too, does he?"

Harry carefully started spreading the raspberry jam, pushing away the thought that it was awfully blood red this morning, and saw an opening to plant a seed for Dumbledore's excuse for learning Dark magic - defensive runic magic, "Mione would probably never admit this to anyone, but Malfoy's actually more book-smart than we thought. They're both taking Ancient Runes and can talk politely enough about the Ogham."

"Og-wha?"

Harry shook his head at the more familiar garble of eggs and sausage, "Ogham. The name of the main rune system the class covers. Lots of lines", he dipped the knife back into the jar next to his goblet of pumpkin juice for another scoop of jam, "Anyways, it turns out that Malfoy knows some magic that Dumbledore thinks will help with Voldemort. We've had a few lessons - the spells are in a different language - and Dumbledore wants me to learn more stuff. You know, starting with defensive shields."

"I guess it makes sense", Ron washed down his mouthful of eggs with pumpkin juice, "Bill's talked about Fleur knowing different magic in French, and Charlie's done some cool stuff with a staff in Romanian. I'm a bit surprised Mione hasn't latched onto the magical theory behind it all."

Ron trailed off with a slight cough, and Harry finally set his knife on his plate. Unless he wanted a ridiculous amount of jam, there was little he could do than eat. He took a small bite and hummed in the direction of the silent redhead, "We've been in the library a fair bit. It's not exactly easy third-wheeling your snogging sessions with Lavender", he paused at Ron's wince, "I'm not saying you have to stop, but it's easier to study outside the common room when it's happening."

"Oh, shit, mate", Harry turned his head to stare at Ron, who looked momentarily horrified before he recovered by drinking his pumpkin juice, "Traditional blood bonds have a fidelity jinx."

"How is fidelity a jinx?", Harry whispered and leaned forward slightly, a little nervous to be talking about the subject in the Great Hall but confident that no one was paying attention to anything that wasn't homework or tea at this hour. Ron waved his fork in the air, punctuating his explanation with the bit of sausage on the end, "Blood magic doesn't care if you fancy someone else when you're bonded. You could already be head over heels for some witch, and the fidelity charm would make you uncomfortable with getting too chummy with her. No one gets physically hurt, but it can do a number on the emotions of everyone involved. Therefore, a jinx."

"Oh", Harry mumbled and took a large bite of his toast. They'd already established that the bond couldn't create romantic or physical attraction, and Malfoy had assured him the infidelity measures were temporary. Except it didn't sound like the temporary nature was common knowledge? Unless - Harry took another bite of his toast - the Helion had abandoned arranged marriages in favor of emotion based marriages long enough ago that it no longer was common knowledge for them. Gwyllon weren't exactly screaming their experience with extramarital arrangements from the rooftops, and he didn't even know if he was allowed to talk about this aspect of the Tawch subculture with Ron. Harry settled for nodding and quietly addressing his goblet, "That's a problem for future-Harry. Right now, I feel duty bound to remind you that today is when we choose the topic for that large Transfig essay."

"Ugh", Ron muffled his groan with half of his piece of toast and waved a buttery, crumb dotted hand, "Don't remind me. I don't know which is worse - analyzing pros and cons of using animals in transfigurative spells, or going into the dangers of human transfiguration", a quick sip of pumpkin juice and the floodgates were open to vent before reality could crush the stubborn Gryffindor into submission, "And we have multiple due dates. Can you believe it? It's bad enough we have to get out - what, ten feet minimum? - McGonagall's making us turn in an outline and preliminary drafts, too."

Harry gently elbowed Ron's ribs, "She's just making sure you don't pull a you and wait until there's one week left to try to do everything."

Ron sighed a bit dramatically and picked up another piece of toast, "Mione and Malfoy are such a bad influence on you - studying, and doing the readings on time, and finishing essays early. What have you done with Harry Potter, and how do I get him back?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Ignis aurum probat** : Fire tests gold. From a longer phrase that translates to, "[As] fire tempers gold, [so does] adversity temper/strengthen strong men".


	14. Sylph Shield (T)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> No updates to characters, ships, or tags (unless I break down and tag 'gratuitous world building / expanding canon' on this).

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Yule, Winter Solstice, Alban Arthan, etc!  
> An extra chapter this week, as a gift.
> 
> I'm reasonably confident I borrowed the magic flavor mixing basis from that opera scene in "Oath Breaker II: Dawn and Twilight", but I don't really remember if there were specific details shared within the series about this magical theory. I read those fics for enjoyment rather than taking notes.

Harry frowned slightly as he twisted the silver handle on the dark wood door the Room of Requirement provided for lesson space and saw the room was the same as when he'd left on autopilot last week. The circular table with its becoming familiar dark grain and gray softly cushioned chairs. Two sinks on the left wall not far from the semi-circle of twisted, Dark born trees. Harry slowly walked to his chair on the right and set his bag down near the table leg while glancing at the miniature Whomping Willow that still stood in the far right hand corner with its pale green leaves swaying and fluttering in a nonexistent breeze. Would they have to Vanish that tree or simply ask the Room to take it away for it to disappear? He rolled his shoulders and stretched his arms out, not caring about the tug of the school jumper while mentally preparing for today's lesson. If Malfoy was satisfied with Harry's shielding, he was going to finally get to try an offensive spell on one of the trees.

"Dymunaf ar gyfer y machlud haul heno", the familiar deep lilt came from the direction of the door. Speak of the devil, and Harry turned to look at Malfoy, whose uniform still looked neat and straight at the end of the day like he'd only just gotten up for classes. He thanked whatever gods may be listening that Hogwarts wasn't as stuffy about their dress code with older students and nodded politely, "Dymunaf ar gyfer y machlud haul heno. So, shields."

"Don't get your besom in a bunch", Malfoy muttered and laid his bag on the table. He slid the thin dark leather-bound book with his lesson notes in it out of the bag and slowly thumbed through it. He pulled a small iridescent blue quill about half the size of a typical owl quill out of a compartment on the inside of the flap and jotted something down before addressing Harry, "Some of us have back-to-back double period classes right before your lessons. A moment to prepare would be greatly appreciated."

"Er", Harry cleared his throat and scuffed the tip of his trainer on the stone in front of him. He jammed his hands into the pockets of his trousers, finding reassurance in the warmth his wand had absorbed from his body heat, "Right, Muggle Studies and Ancient Runes. Sorry", he kept his eyes on the dark grain of his chair and tried to not stammer at the attempt at small talk, "Were they as boring as they sound?"

Malfoy snorted and continued writing in his notebook while perching on the edge of the table, his voice low in the silence of the room, "The history of electricity lecture devolved into a discussion on the breakdown of the electromagnetic spectrum because Professor Burbage is rather easy to distract on tangents when she tries to give presentations or long lectures. Same old love fest between Babbling and the Ogham in Ancient Runes."

"We're still on for the futharks and futhorc this week?", Harry watched the quill flash and shimmer in the torch light. He'd seen feathers do that before, but he hadn't known they could look so bright and jewel-like. It couldn't be an owl feather, unless there were small flashy tropical owl species he didn't know about. Malfoy hummed and nodded, "Brace yourself for the Helion angle. Babbling will refer to all three systems as the futharkians, and it will be abundantly clear that she's in love with the Ogham before the first hour's up", pale thin fingers casually let go of the quill and turned to look at something several pages prior to the bookmarked page, "You did a lot better on the last quiz. Didn't miss any in the part with drawing the correct rune for the name given. Still struggling with about half of matching meanings to rune names, though."

Harry had the vague feeling he was probably supposed to respond to that. There was a compliment hidden among the critique, and Slytherins didn't seem to give those out publicly. He should take what he could get, especially since it was the first compliment Malfoy had given him, but Harry couldn't stop looking at the quill. The small size wasn't horribly unusual, and the colors were flashy in a way that was suitable to someone who could be proud to the point of arrogance, but Malfoy was ignoring the fact that gravity seemed optional. Emerald eyes blinked a few times, but no, he wasn't imagining it. The bloody quill was hovering near Malfoy's hand like it was patiently waiting for him to pick it up and resume writing. Harry nodded slightly towards it, "What did you do to your quill?"

Malfoy's brows furrowed slightly and he glanced at it, clearly not seeing what was so unusual about the situation, "I didn't do anything to it."

Harry grasped for the word - floating sounded aimless, a bit accidental even, and suspended made it seem like the quill was paused in its trajectory back to the table. No, the minute shifts in position were too purposeful, and it was indeed hovering in a way that reminded the Seeker of a snitch. He motioned with a hand, "Quills don't just hover on their own."

A slight narrowing of the eyes, another glance to the iridescent blue, and then an amused gleam made Malfoy's gray eyes seem to soften into a paler shade that vaguely reminded Harry of sun shining through clouds after a storm. To the Slytherin's credit, he didn't take the bait that had been handed to him and launch into a derisive rant about Harry's lack of knowledge about the Wizarding world because this was clearly common and well-known knowledge. A semi-familiar smirk lit up Malfoy's face, but he was holding himself back from the well-worn habits from before The Accident. Harry shifted his weight from one foot to the other and pushed his hand back into the safety of his pocket, waiting for the other shoe to drop. Malfoy plucked the quill from the air, twirling it slightly, and flung it in front of him where it paused in midair, "Feathers can exhibit inherent properties when turned into quills, and hummingbird feathers hover."

It was like a piece of the puzzle under his nose had been pointed out to him, and Harry worked his jaw while trying to not show signs of kicking himself. Rolling his eyes and sighing would be a tad too dramatic for a Gryffindor, but it was obvious now that Malfoy had said it that the iridescent jewel tone would belong to a hummingbird, even if Harry hadn't known they featured this shade of blue. Malfoy reached out and lifted his palm underneath the quill to return it to the compartment in his bag's flap, "It's from a Long-tailed Sylph to be specific, but you didn't come here to learn about hummingbird quills."

Malfoy made no move to stand from where he was still half-perched on the edge of the table and slid his open notebook further inwards in order to fully sit on the edge. Harry found himself shifting from one foot to the other again, filled with an anxious expectant feeling that he knew would burn out once they got to the spell work. It was the feeling of knowing you were about to duel but not having started yet, rather familiar from their Defense Against the Dark Arts class. Malfoy angled slightly towards Harry and his expression was neutral, tutorial, "For the purposes of this lesson, shielding is for your individual person and Hels most commonly use Protego, while warding is for a location and commonly includes Protego Maxima and Protego Totalum. While the Tawch and Helion have disagreements over many issues, the efficiency of Light magic typically stands on its own. Protego is no better or worse than Caer, but the situation you're in can influence which spell you turn to. Any guesses as to why that is?"

"Er", Harry shifted his weight between his feet, thrown by the bookish introduction and lack of physical practice, "Not really. I just go with what comes to mind first, which would be Protego."

"You've been taught how to duel in a Helion setting", Malfoy preemptively raised a hand, "I'm aware you have extenuating circumstances, but the safer, first place you learned most spells has been with Hels. You're blocking Light magic, so it works best if you use Light magic to block."

"Doesn't it defeat the point of a Shield Charm to not work at all if you have to match the flavor of magic?", Harry grimaced inwardly, but Malfoy passed over the simplification of Light and Dark as flavors to respond to the genuine curiosity, "Obviously, you can mix-and-match flavors. A properly cast Protego will still work for the most part against Dark magic, but it may weaken and end faster from absorbing Dark spells. Caer protects against Light magic, but drawing in the Light weakens it faster than normal as well. Hels tend to stick to their side and shore up their shields by using Fianto Duri to feed their Protego while doing other work, or they break out Protego Horribilis in an attempt to specifically shield against Dark magic."

"And Gwyllon?"

Malfoy looked torn for a moment, and Harry thought of Dumbledore's letter where secrecy oaths were talked about and how certain information about the Tawch and their Dark magic were initiate bound. However, Malfoy seemed to finish with his internal battle and relented before he could poke at the thought further, "Gwyllon learn Light magic alongside Hels, like here at Hogwarts, but we learn about the efficiencies of magic flavors. We may instinctively turn to Caer, but we also know to layer on Protego."

"Makes sense", Harry nodded and felt a small bubble of satisfaction. He could see a tiny glimpse of why the Tawch protected its knowledge because this level of magical theory about flavors could revolutionize how Aurors approached dueling. Hell, it would probably change how Dumbledore conducted the Order of the Phoenix, and it was in this thought that Harry saw the test against temptation. Snape had obviously kept mum on the issue if Dumbledore wasn't already encouraging the rest of the Order to learn about Dark magic, and he'd been a spy since sometime in the first war. This might not be a gigantic secret if Harry didn't need to wait until after the ceremony for Malfoy to share it, but it wasn't lost on The Chosen One that some secrets were more dangerous because they carried the power to destroy someone else.

Malfoy was loathe to share the information with Harry and probably wouldn't have if the ceremony weren't already in the works, so it was unlikely he would volunteer anything to Dumbledore himself. If the Order altered their dueling strategies accordingly, there could only be one person who had learned the secrets of the Tawch and told the Helion, and a surprising surge of Gryffindor stubbornness refused to let that happen. It wasn't just the community that was trusting Harry to keep their secrets; it was his former long-time rival who was now his acquaintance slash technically husband. No matter what others said about Gryffindor brashness, the red and gold House was loyal, and this was a test in whether his loyalties still laid with the Helion more than the Tawch. He nodded more to himself than Malfoy at the realization and forced his attention back to the Dark tutor in front of him.

"As with other Brythonic incantations", Malfoy slowly pulled his wand out of the pocket of his robes and held it lightly in one hand, "It is your focus and intent that shapes how Caer reacts as a shield. It's easy to start out with imagining a tangible wall or something with color, so you get a taste of that in your shield. However, with practice you should eventually be able to create an invisible force field. It's easier to layer with Protego that way, and you're not reducing your own visibility in a duel."

Malfoy motioned at Harry, who froze slightly before coming to his senses and pulling his hands out of his pockets. He flexed his fingers and took a deep breath to quell the pre-duel jitters, and then Harry reached down within his chest to the reservoir of shadows and pulled a thin line out through his hand. He stared down into his right palm, trying to see the invisible force field in his mind, and spoke quietly yet clearly, "Caer."

Harry could feel the slightly cool brush against his skin as the shadows worked their way out of his magical core, but he instantly realized that Malfoy's hint about starting with a visible shield was helpful for a beginner. He knew something was happening, but without the ability to see the shield, Harry was at a bit of a loss as to whether it was strong enough to actually work. Malfoy hummed, sounding amused that Harry had attempted an invisible shield on his first try, and calmly raised his wand. Silver eyes met green, and Harry found himself tensing automatically. He hadn't even gotten his wand out, and his only protection was a maybe working invisible shield and --

"Rictusempra", a silver light shot across the room heading straight for Harry's chest, and it splashed into a harmless arc against the curve of his shield about a foot away from him. He sighed with relief as the Tickling Charm dissipated and chuckled when it finally clicked why the spell seemed so familiar, "Going to summon a snake next?"

"We already know that's not a good diversion tactic for a Parselmouth", Malfoy's lips twitched but the smile didn't completely form, "Just a rash moment of being sentimental."

The second flash of silver caught Harry slightly off guard, but he would never admit that to the boy who looked like he was already struggling to not smile at the chance to test the shield out. Thankfully, his concentration hadn't wavered enough to fully end the spell, and Harry rolled his shoulders, gently pulling another line of shadows from within to feed the shield. The third silver light got halfway closer but still briefly illuminated the curve of the shield and proved that it was definitely there. A deep breath in and out, and Harry's thoughts ran together into a picture of a wall of air, wind twisting into a bubble around him. Number four was halfway between where his shield started and where it had been previously before it hit the wall, but number five came in such quick succession that Harry felt his shield end before he saw it happen, a weird popping sensation with a magical ripple more so than a sound. Malfoy ended his spell with a flick of the wrist almost as soon as the silver light landed on Harry's chest. He took a deep breath that almost bordered on a gasp from the beginning snare of the spell's effect and shook his head while getting his breathing under control.

"Go ahead and do a quick recan", the hand not holding Malfoy's wand waved in the general direction of the sinks, "And it really is easier to start with something more tangible than an invisible force field if you want to outlast five hits."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Honestly, I saw a PBS documentary about hummingbirds that included the mentioned species, the Long-tailed Sylph, and I knew I had to get into quills that weren't just owl feathers. [Source](https://www.beautyofbirds.com/longtailedsylphhummingbirds.html) for the following image:  
> 


	15. Fire-Grass Snake (Th)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Added to Characters: Bathsheda Babbling, Hogwarts Students

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Xmas lines up with this week's update, so Happy Christmas to those who celebrate. Brace yourself for sitting in on that Ancient Runes lesson.

Harry ran his thumb across the ruffled edges of the pages of the text, a borrowed copy of _The Norse-Gaelic Runology_ , and stared down at the chart in front of him. The Gryffindor shifted in his seat and hoped he wouldn't piss Hermione off too much with asking a question. Just one little question niggling at the corner of his brain. A tan hand tentatively raised into the air, and Professor Babbling's golden amber eyes widened in surprise at the guest opening class with a question. She held her own copy of the text in one hand and motioned for Harry to speak, "Why doesn't Peorth have a keyword?"

Those amber eyes relaxed into a professorial explanation, "It doesn't have a corresponding meaning since it was created for the 'p' sound. Peorth parallels the invention of Pín for 'p' in Old Irish. Who knows the collective name for additional letters in the Ogham that Pín belongs to?"

"The Forfeda", Harry's seatmate and the only other Gryffindor in the classroom responded with a reflexively quick raise of her hand. Harry leaned slightly away from Hermione's potential path of hand raising for future questions with the ease of a long honed habit. He glanced back down to the chart and felt a slight sinking sensation as his stomach twisted. They hadn't even properly started talking about the futhorc and there was already missing information.

"Correct, Ms. Granger. Because 'p' wasn't a native sound, Pín was eventually recategorized into a vowel sound and renamed Ifín. Later Ogamists had to create another forfeda for 'p' called Peith", Professor Babbling's voice rose and fell with the familiarity of repeating a small lecture. She settled the book onto the podium to the side of the chalkboard and turned her back to the class in order to copy out two runes, Nyd and something similar that Harry could only assume was one of the Ogham, in bright white chalk. A swish of her teal blue robes and Professor Babbling was facing the collection of students again, mostly Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws near his seat in the front. Harry took a deep breath and drew on his flash of courage before it could disappear, "But what about the interpretations gathered from the rune poems?"

"The rune poems are part of the OWL and were therefore covered in the fourth year", Professor Babbling smiled and seemed genuinely apologetic, "I'm afraid we don't have time to rehash them, Mr. Potter. They have very little impact in transliterating the manuscripts covered on the NEWT."

"Seems awfully dismissive of the Germanic runologists who extrapolated meaning from Peorth's rune poem", Harry internally winced at the sarcastic retort, which could be easily misinterpreted into a crosser attitude than intended by a teacher who didn't know him very well, but followed through, "I mean, it's not every day you find someone who's an expert in Proto-Germanic."

Professor Babbling nodded slightly and continued in the cool voice of a Professor who had grown a tolerance for sarcasm, "Be that as it may, we do not need to know Peorth's meaning to translate the Kent coin inscriptions, which is the main translative need for that rune. Now, the 28 futhorc correspond to the 24 Elder Futhark and -- "

"Wait", Harry abandoned the pretense of raising his hand to talk as he gave another glance to the chart on the page in front of him that seemed awfully short, "There's supposed to be more futhorc."

"Mr. Potter -- ", Professor Babbling exhaled his name like a small prayer to the teaching gods, but Harry ignored the witch's exasperation and dug the familiar leather-bound notebook out of his bag, riffling past pages of Malfoy's neat cursive. He knew there were proper names that would work as evidence, but knowing inscriptions that the runes were used in had never been a part of the quizzes in their Dark lessons. Harry spoke more to himself than to the class, "They're totally used in some ring and cross inscriptions and that yew-stick thing. There should be four more --"

"Harry, pay attention", Hermione hissed in his direction and swept her bushy curls back into a quick, messy ponytail. He didn't really care how her hair was behaving because he was skimming the pages of the runes missing in the chart, but the movement covered a quick jab to his ribs with her less than soft elbow, "Put that away."

"Mr. Potter, if you would please put away outside work and turn to the chapter on the futharkians", Professor Babbling's voice had lost the warmth of humor, and Harry swallowed as his eyes flitted down to _Malfoy's Runology_ still in his hands. Some of their professors looked down on work from other classes being so prominently given attention while in their own, but there was no time to explain the notebook away, "Our text uses the Vienna Codex, and you will clearly be able to see the 28 futhorc as Robinson has so kindly provided in the chart. I am not aware of what runology text you have in front of you, but it would help you to follow along with us."

Harry kept his voice apologetically low and pressed his half-remembered evidence, "I am absolutely positive I didn't hallucinate that stick from the Netherlands with Stan on it."

"Harry, do you mean the Westeremden B Frisian inscription from the early 1900s?", the bright tone of Hannah's question was accented by her curious enthusiasm. He was immediately thankful for the Hufflepuff and the explicit name of one of the inscriptions he couldn't fully remember the name of because if there was anything Babbling might listen to, it was the runic evidence. The professor tucked a honey colored curl around her ear while glancing in the direction of the yellow and black section of students, "That is beyond the scope of this class, Ms. Abbott."

"I mean, if all you're going to do is translate, you might as well include all the inscriptions", Harry hung onto his opinion like a dog clinging to a bone. Not wanting to address the existence of additional futhorc runes was blindingly stupid, and he was struggling to not comment about willful obliviousness of the Helion community.

"Mr. Potter, if you would please keep your outbursts to a minimum while you're a guest in this class? The Headmaster wanted you to familiarize yourself with the visual differences between runic systems", Professor Babbling smoothed out the front of her robes and turned back to the pale willow colored book on her podium with a small clearing of her throat. While it was clear that she didn't want to speak further, Harry wasn't interested in being polite about why he was learning runic systems, "That's because he didn't want me mixing meanings when it comes to bindrunes -- "

Professor Babbling's sharp voice drowned Harry's reply and seemed to startle most of the students in the class, "We do not discuss bindrunes in this class."

Hermione leaned closer and whispered, "Harry --", but the rest of her warning against revealing information from Dumbledore's lessons was cut off by the return of Hannah Abbott's curious questioning, "What're bindrunes?"

"As I said, we do not discuss bindrunes in this class", Professor Babbling tried to soften her voice, but her face kept a new hard quality about it. There were faint murmurs from the rest of the class, as this was evidently the first time their professor had shown a hint of cold anger and refused to answer a question. She tucked another curl around her ear in a nervous tic and tried to write off the refusal rather weakly, "That's university level runology."

"Professor -- ", Harry kept his own voice calm, but Professor Babbling spoke over him in a louder than normal and forcedly calm voice as she motioned to _The Norse-Gaelic Runology_ , "If you would look at the comparison chart that Macalister gives between the Ogham and the futharkian systems -- "

"Bindrunes really aren't that complicated. You literally combine runes, and it's at least half of runic magic -- "

Another chilly snap cut Harry off, "I will not have a discussion about a Dark Art in my classroom."

"Runic magic?", Hermione's surprised quiet exclamation broke the few seconds of silence that had fallen over the classroom. There were louder but still unclear murmurs circling around the section of Ravenclaws, but it was the plucky curiosity of another Hufflepuff that rang through the excited chatter, "Dark?"

"You mean we could be doing something other than translation?", Macmillan's awed yet slightly annoyed voice elicited a smattering of chuckles in the section of Hufflepuffs, and Hermione seemed to be nodding to herself in slight agreement without realizing it. Her curiosity would surely start to burn away at any initial misgivings about the reason why Harry was learning about bindrunes when it fully sunk in that there was an untapped system of magic to learn about. A Ravenclaw with dark hair that Harry didn't recognize raised his hand slightly and addressed the silent witch at the front of the class, "Professor, how can runes be Dark magic?"

Harry repressed a shudder as he remembered thinking the exact same thought while paging through _Malfoy's Runology_ and feeling unexpected little bubbles of excitement at being on the threshold of learning something new. He'd read the explanation of Dark associations first before starting to memorize any of the names, forms, or meanings, and there was something about the matter of fact words that had popped all those little bubbles in the direction of his stomach: _Similar to Brythonic incantations, runic magic relies on one's intent and focused concentration while saying the name of the rune (saying one of the runes incorporated into a bindrune will suffice). However, instead of drawing on one's personal magical core to power the act of magic, the runes themselves will power the magic after being activated or fed a drop of blood (depending on the magical intent, one may need to use their own blood or may need to use someone else's)._ The ancient power of blood made sense in a primal way, but it was a taboo subject for Hels.

"You have to feed some of your blood to the rune to activate the magical desire", Professor Babbling didn't even try to keep the disgust out of her explanation and paused slightly before reiterating a sentiment, her tone making it clear that she didn't think she needed further explanation, "Blood magic has been classified as Dark for centuries now."

The briefest moment of silence as the class absorbed Professor Babbling's explanation. Harry restrained himself from glancing in the direction of the small pocket of Slytherins, curious but not wanting to see what Malfoy's face was doing. The blond was probably more in control of himself than Harry was with trying to push the lines of what Helion considered appropriate teaching material, and Harry could practically see the cool, shuttered eyes like the metallic doors to a safe. Hermione cleared her throat and asked the question that she knew others were thinking but couldn't bring themselves to ask with the unwavering courage of her House, "Harry, how do you know about runic magic?"

"Dumbledore wants me to be able to defend myself from an attack from Voldemort", Harry carefully kept his voice quiet, emerald eyes trained on the notebook in front of him on the desk, and ran the pad of his thumb along the edge of the back cover. He waited for a moment to let most of the students and Professor Babbling flinch or wince at the Dark Lord's name without comment, "Gar is usually part of offensive bindrunes."

The few seconds it took for eager eyes to flicker to their own texts and slide down the chart seemed tense with curiosity, but Macmillan voiced the disappointment of the class, "Gar isn't listed here."

"Means spear", Harry looked up to meet Professor Babbling's expression frozen in a combination of fear and awe that he was talking about offensive runic magic and Voldemort in the same sentence. His fingers tapped the open page of _Malfoy's Runology_ , which he had settled across the open pages of the class text, and her amber eyes followed the movement, taking in the strange notebook. He smiled a small, faux apologetic smile and let the bite of sarcasm creep back into his voice, "It's included in the Cotton Domitian, but apparently, not the Vienna Codex this class uses."

Professor Babbling's eyes narrowed at the dig at the text, at her and her curriculum, at Helion. She cleared her throat and tucked honey curls behind both ears, voice less sharp but still a bit chilly, "Clearly, if You-Know-Who uses this branch of Dark magic, it is not suitable for this class. That is all I will say on the matter, and five points from Gryffindor, for such an interruption, Mr. Potter."

Silence for one heartbeat, two, three. Teal blue robes ruffled while the professor collected herself, someone from the back corner of Slytherins coughed nervously, and Harry looked down at his desk. He slowly and quietly closed the notebook and returned it to his bag, nestled between his Charms and Defense texts from this morning's classes. The students seemed to relax when they realized Harry was going to remain silent instead of continuing to press the topic or challenge the points taken from Gryffindor, and Professor Babbling nodded. She cleared her throat to get the lingering glances being shot towards Harry's scruffy black hair back towards the podium and tried to resume her lesson, "Now, we are going to have an appropriate runology discussion that does not involve the Dark Arts. Where were we?"

Hermione quietly supplied the answer while students picked up forgotten quills and returned to the correct page in the book, "Professor Babbling, you were saying something about the visual similarities between the Ogham and futharkian systems?"

"Thank you, Ms. Granger", Professor Babbling's lips twitched into a suggestion of a grateful smile, and she slipped into the easy, comfortable tone of a lecture while gesturing to the blackboard with its two runes, "Take Muin and Naudiz. Muin is connected to love or esteem and the Bríatharogam Morainn mac Moín glosses this ogham as 'vine' with the kenning: highest of beauty is muin because it grows aloft like a vine-tree", a sharp point to the rune Harry recognized as Nyd, "Contrasted to the visual similarity of Naudiz, it's no wonder that the late poets connected the parallels between love and need and featured these runes in mirrored designs in their manuscripts", a brief pause for the scratching of quills to catch up, "Please look at the Frisian comb inscriptions McManus has included on the next page and start translating using the Elder Futhark. I need to inform the Headmaster of Potter's early dismissal from class."

Harry nodded slightly in agreement and stood from Hermione's side, swinging his bag over his shoulder and waiting in the aisle of the rows of desks before leaving. He had left the text open on the desk next to her, but he found he really didn't care about the book, which was just shy of useless when it came to the futhorc. Perhaps the futhark systems fared better because they already had fewer runes, but Harry had to fight to keep his lip from curling at the disgust and fear the Helion directed at these rune systems simply for existing. They couldn't even focus on translation properly because certain runes weren't even being taught, and most of the students hadn't been aware of it. Harry spared a glance to the Slytherin corner where all of the students were obediently bent over their books and felt his tension ebb away; the children of the Tawch had known for far longer than Harry and had kept quietly to themselves today. A creamy origami owl fluttered past his shoulder, and he glanced to Professor Babbling. Her lips were pursed in an almost disappointed line, but she nodded to him that he could leave, and Harry spun on his heel to follow the message flying to Dumbledore's office.

A corridor away, Harry broke away from the owl's path because he had zero intentions of going to the Headmaster and listening to a disappointed lecture on behaving oneself in class. Or worse, Harry's hold on his bag's strap tightened, Dumbledore wouldn't say a word and would just look at him with those piercing blue eyes over the rim of his spectacles. The silence for Harry to stew in his own thoughts was almost worse. He shook his head and followed the familiar path to the stretch of corridor with the tapestry of Barnabas the Barmy attempting to teach trolls ballet. A quick three count of walking beside the stone and the dark wood door with a silver handle appeared to let Harry escape into the Room of Requirement.

The torches along the walls illuminated a slightly different room, and Harry paused as the door clicked shut behind him. The dark wood table and the two chairs were in the center of the room like usual, and even the sinks on the far left were starting to blend into the category of normal for Dark lessons. As he took a few steps towards the table, Harry realized with a jolt that the trees were gone, including the Whomping Willow. The faint smell of a bonfire wafted around the table, and Harry took a step forward when he saw the snake curled up in the center of the dark wood. It was dark gray with thin slashes of burnt red, but he wasn't sure what species it was. Ruby red eyes opened - giving away the status as a magical species - and glittered in the torch light, and the snake raised its head to look him in the eye, the bonfire smell in the room increasing with the movement. It opened its mouth and hissed in greeting, " ** _Dymunaf ar gyfer y machlud haul heno._** "

Harry nodded slightly and set his bag down at the base of the closest table leg, " ** _Dymunaf ar gyfer y machlud haul heno. Er - Ouroboros?_** "

" ** _Fire grass returns first_** ", the snake cocked its head slightly, " ** _after a fire has burned, and the fire-grass snake makes its home in the first signs of growth, the seeds of the future. I am here to nourish your seeds, Seeker, so that there may be a harvest to come._** "

" ** _Oh_** ", Harry half-sighed, half-groaned. He pulled his chair out from the table slightly and settled into the soft, pale gray cushion with a resigned slump. Ouroboros watched him carefully, and he finally waved a hand towards the ruby eyes and failed to keep the hint of bitterness out of his voice, " ** _Well, I'm sure you've got a lecture all planned out for me. We might as well get this over with then._** "

" ** _I am not The Phoenix_** ", the fire-grass snake draped its head over its tail that ended in a burnt red nub, similar to its thin incomplete bands that looked like slashes. It probably mimicked whatever fire grass was, and Harry shook his head slightly to focus back on the snake's words, " ** _The Phoenix?_** "

" ** _Helius mentor_** ", Ouroboros shook its tail slightly in a small wave, " ** _You are still holding lessons about the Dark Lord with him, are you not?_** "

Harry nodded silently as he realized the snake was referring to the Headmaster. He could see how the moniker fit, but it was still a bit odd to figure out who all these titles referred to when Ouroboros could just use a name. The snake's tongue flickered out to taste the air, and it nodded more to itself than to him before continuing, " ** _You are upset with The Phoenix._** "

" ** _I don't know if I'd say upset_** ", Harry hedged while sweeping a hand up through his hair, shifting the untidy locks into new black spikes, " ** _I just - he didn't_** ", a deep breath and breaking the intense stare of those red eyes, " ** _Dumbledore didn't even bother asking me if I wanted to do the ceremony, and he just started planning after meeting with Malfoy._** "

" ** _You agreed to the gifts of the Tawch with the ashwinder_** ", the statement raised slightly at the end in an almost questioning hiss. Harry ran his pointer nail over the edge of his thumb nail, instinctively needing some movement to fidget. He sighed and lowered his voice, " ** _I didn't exactly go off and tell everyone about that, now did I? It's the principle of asking and not assuming an answer._** "

" ** _Between a rock and a hawk, you must use the gifts of the Tawch to defeat the Dark Lord_** ", Ouroboros sounded deathly serious, and Harry found himself nodding once in agreement at the finality of the statement, " ** _Shadow responds to shadow, and we will shed that blighted skin by a cleansing of our own making._** "

" ** _The magical flavor mixing theory_** ", Harry's voice was lighter than he'd expected, but he figured it was because he'd gotten plenty of practice talking about serious, life-or-death matters with Dumbledore, " ** _I'm not saying I don't want to go ahead with the ceremony. It just seemed like telling me about something I have to be the one to do was an afterthought._** "

" ** _The Phoenix means well_** ", the snake looked at him with a sympathetic tilt of its head, " ** _The ring he touched - its curse can only be delayed not avoided. He does not have much time to give out instructions to the rest of his Order._** "

" ** _He's dying?!_** "

Ouroboros blinked and slowly uncurled to stretch its muscles in an unperturbed manner. The echo of Harry's shocked and concerned outburst seemed to ring in the air around them, and the Gryffindor winced at the panic he could hear while now going over the question in his head. The snake flicked its tail, " ** _You humans are all dying, Seeker. He's simply dying faster_** ", a yawn punctuated the detached observation, " ** _The Phoenix will not die tonight. He has enough time to prepare and plan._** "

" ** _Dumbledore hasn't said anything about this_** ", Harry swallowed and stared at the dark grain of the wood next to his right hand, feeling a bit numb, " ** _We've had more than one lesson where he could've mentioned something_** ", a pause as the thought bobbed up from the depths of unspoken fears, " ** _He was never going to warn me._** "

" ** _The Phoenix heard news of the Dark Lord giving someone the task of killing him_** ", the snake curled in on itself in a small coil, " ** _He sent Potions Master to offer assistance and waited for the acceptance._** "

Emerald eyes met ruby, and Harry found himself squinting and losing a staring contest. Of fucking course that would be Snape's title. Of course Snape offering Malfoy his assistance with a 'different matter' than the Dark lessons had to wind up being something like this. His glasses were slid up off his nose while Harry pressed the heels of his palms into his eyes, pieces clicking too fast for comfort. Malfoy had been given the assignment, and both the cursed necklace and the poisoned mead had failed to reach Dumbledore. Of course the Headmaster had figured out that the mead had been intended for him and not Ron. Malfoy had been struggling with accepting Snape's assistance until this weekend, and that letter at breakfast had said that Malfoy had agreed to help in the fight against Voldemort. Eyes slowly cracked open and squinted at the blurry black shape, " ** _Malfoy's switched sides?_** "

Ouroboros came into focus as Harry slid his glasses back down onto his nose, " ** _Potions Master and Mate cannot announce this to the Dark Lord, Seeker. The Phoenix will help them plan out his already inevitable death._** "

Harry rubbed at his face and tried to keep up with the pace of new information. This made finding out he was The Chosen One look like a calm little chat at afternoon tea. He sighed and gave up fighting the statement; Dumbledore had been planning his moves in the second war that he had known was going to come for years, and it quite frankly did make sense for the conniving old wizard to have some sort of contingency plan that allowed for his death to be the next chess move. It probably didn't even matter that Malfoy had been given the task if the cursed ring was going to kill him soon anyways. Harry looked at the snake waiting patiently on the table, " ** _Why are you telling me this, Ouroboros?_** "

A rippling of muscle rather similar to a shrug and a lazy flick of the tongue, " ** _Mate and Potions Master are not allowed to tell you about The Phoenix's plans and their roles. Does this alter your decision to accept Gyfu?_** "

A quiet shrug and arms folded across his chest were all the answer the snake got. It tilted its head and looked over Harry carefully before speaking, " ** _Gwyllon have a different history with death and assassination than Hels. You must be willing to kill to survive._** "

" ** _I already have to_** ", Harry grumbled and stared at the table in front of him, hoping he didn't look quite as childish as he felt. There were a lot of things he had had little choice in doing so far in life, and the prophecy foretelling him killing Voldemort was just one more thing. Was it so bad that he didn't want to kill anyone? He blinked in surprise as Ouroboros shook its head, but he was sure he hadn't actually said his thought out loud. When the snake spoke, it had moved onto a warning, " ** _Beware those who circle like vultures and eagerly await the death of a Llwydnos. Even when you are kind and helpful, the Helion will delight in burning away the Darkness. Leave your den with care._** "

" ** _Eh_** ", Harry shrugged, unfolded his arms, and smoothed out his red and gold striped tie, " ** _Someone's always been judgmental and waiting to jump me on Voldie's orders. Same game, different players._** "

" ** _Your nest may try to scare you as a test to prove you're willing to convert_** ", Ouroboros sounded a little disapproving in a manner that reminded Harry of Molly Weasley when she couldn't control her children's antics, " ** _I thought it would be best to warn you._** "

Harry chuckled and shook his head, amused and a little touched this old serpent was concerned with certain emotions and reactions. He supposed it had to do with the Tawch's image, or maybe even a worry it didn't want to voice about Harry backing out of the ceremony. Based on the careful questions about choice, the teen was fairly confident that something important was happening in the upcoming ceremony, and a component of it may not work if he didn't truly want it to. Funny how joining the Tawch to learn more Dark magic had more consent involved than being thrust into The Boy Who Lived role and the Helion focus on him as The Chosen One. Harry's smile was small yet genuine, " ** _The Malfoys will have to try harder than that to scare me off. Any other warnings?_** "

" ** _Are you willing to Awaken the serpent within, Seeker? It has been sleeping for many decades within the Potters, and it is not a matter of if but when you Awaken after you have touched the stars._** "

" ** _Er_** ", Harry frowned slightly, thrown by the fact that he'd gotten a serious response and at a loss for words as to how to reply. Was touching the stars some sort of euphemism for the ceremony? Or was this warning about the blood bond and the wedding far off into the future? No, everything had been about the ceremony and joining the Tawch so far, so that must be it. A serpent had been sleeping in the Potter family and was going to wake up. Well, he had already picked up the gift of Parseltongue thanks to Voldemort, so it wasn't like anything shocking could still happen around snakes. He shrugged and inclined his head, " ** _The Parselmouth thing's probably already started it, so I guess so?_** "

Ouroboros slithered forward across the table and paused with its head near Harry's left hand. Its tongue flickered over the air above _I must not tell lies_ , and it seemed to nod at whatever it could taste coming off of him. The snake's hiss deepened, and the gentle rise and fall of the smooth syllables seemed almost hypnotic as its ruby eyes glittered in the light of the torches while delivering more than a warning:

" ** _The Phoenix will fall from the sky_**  
**_As Walpurgisnacht draws nigh;_**  
**_Crush not the heartstring of Mate, the newborn spy,_**  
**_Who holds Ophiuchus inside._** "

Harry blinked and shook the afterimage out of his mind's eye, feeling like he could get pulled into rubies and not come out again. He glanced down at the table then at his right hand curling over his left. He looked over the top of the table towards the sinks then back to the red eyes that had lost their hypnotic spell. It was another fucking prophecy. Harry ran his left hand through his hair, tugging slightly near his scalp in an attempt to ground himself in the physical sensation, and tried to remember what he'd briefly read about Walpurgisnacht while looking into what the Hogwarts library had about the Dark community. The book had been dismissive of Dark wizards and witches insisting their meetings in sacred groves didn't literally involve the Devil, and the orgiastic revelry on the night before May started had been cited as evidence for something. Harry knew the Tawch had roots in pagan celebrations, and well, an orgy in the woods wasn't as surprising as the author made it seem to be. The night before May started - Dumbledore was going to die sometime in April, probably in the latter half.

" ** _The first half makes sense_** ", Harry quickly summed up the deduction that Dumbledore's planned death was in late April, and Ouroboros tilted its head. He realized that it probably couldn't give away too much information, so he continued with puzzling out the meaning, " ** _I'm just not sure what a heart string or Oaf-yew-whatever has to do with Dumbledore's plan._** "

" ** _A bond connects two hearts like string_** ", the snake sniffed and flicked its tongue out like it was mildly offended that Harry couldn't understand its poetic decisions, " ** _The Serpent-Bearer constellation is not to be looked down upon, not by a snake._** "

" ** _Sorry_** ", Harry cleared his throat slightly while glancing down at the finger glamoured to be ring free, " ** _I'm afraid I don't always pick up on turns of phrase like that in Parseltongue._** "

" ** _You trust the one to pick you up_** ", Ouroboros spoke slowly like it was struggling to break apart a complex idea into digestible pieces, " ** _They will be there to hold your emotions because they care._** "

" ** _Oh_** ", Harry got the distinct impression that the magical snake coolly returning his gaze was looking through the glamour right now, and fingers curled over his left hand in a vain effort to hide the offensive object, " ** _That doesn’t sound half bad, almost friend-like._** "

A humorous hiss and flick of the tongue, " ** _The Serpent-Bearer is also known as Al-Hawwa' or the snake charmer. Would you prefer Mate to charm you, Seeker?_** "

Would he prefer Malfoy to _charm_ him? Harry couldn't tell what his face was doing right now - blanching in shock, or blushing furiously in embarrassment - because his mind was sputtering at the suggestion. He had a suspicious feeling that Malfoy could certainly turn on charm when he wanted to, and with his aristocratic etiquette training, it would probably be smooth and effortless and, well, charming. Black hair shook quickly in the air, and Harry wondered briefly if shock could instill permanent muteness. He swallowed nervously and found himself all out of Gryffindor courage for the time being. It was just a little teasing because a magical snake couldn't possibly care whether or not he found Malfoy charming - not that he even did - and he needed to remember to breathe. The Slytherin in question was barely an acquaintance these days, and it would frankly be a small miracle if they ever got to a friendly stage. Harry shook his head again to push thoughts of charm away and glared at the suspiciously smug flicker of Ouroboros' tongue.

" ** _The Serpent-Bearer has the potential to be a life-long mate_** ", the snake twitched its tail in the direction of Harry's left hand and hissed slowly like it was trying to not startle him, " ** _It is not the domain of lovers to care and raise young. Friends may share blood and carry a heartstring, and their nest is just as happy. There's more than one way to love, and heartstring flavors suit the den._** "

" ** _You come in here with all these bombshells about assassination plots and plans for Dumbledore to assist in his own murder_** ", Harry tried to keep his voice calm and even, but he was speaking a tad too quickly, " ** _All these warnings about being sure I'm ready to join the Tawch and do this ceremony_** ", he paused for a breath, " ** _Death I can handle, but dial back the matchmaking a notch, okay?_** "

" ** _You wanted all of the warnings, Seeker_** ", Ouroboros seemed unconcerned with Harry's outburst and started to climb his arm, muscles tightening and loosening as it slithered up his shoulder, " ** _I simply let you look at all of the seeds in the ground_** ", the tail wrapped itself around Harry's shoulder as the head continued its trek around the back of his neck and upwards, " ** _You need to know what the potential of the future holds, the hopes in the coming years, the possibilities to reap what is sown_** ", Ouroboros paused with its chin resting on Harry's forehead, " ** _Do you accept the harvest, Ger?_** "

Harry swallowed and kept his upper body still, fighting his first inclination to nod in response. It was impossible to see the dark gray head or body through his black fringe, which seemed oddly congruous with the snake's metaphor about The Boy Who Lived being a collection of seeds for a future harvest. Fire-grass snakes were made to blend into the future potential, and even with all of the surprises dropped on him at one time, Harry thought his future might not be absolutely horrible, and it may one day have a little more of his own choosing in it. He felt the building of a bubble of excitement in his chest, and Harry whispered, " ** _Yes._** "

The warm body draped across his head, neck, and shoulder twitched uncontrollably, and Harry grimaced at the gurgling sound coming from above him. He thought it might not be a bad thing that he couldn't see the snake while it engaged an unpleasant defense mechanism - autohaemorrhaging and expelling blood as a way to trick a threat into thinking that it was dead. The blood trickled down the bridge of Harry's nose, and he unconsciously brought up a hand to wipe at it. He paused as he thought back to the ashwinder and its rune tracing, and with a deep breath to steady himself before he could really think too hard about what he was doing, Harry traced the rune Ger over his mouth. He parted his lips slightly to whisper, " ** _Rwy'n oedi'r wawr._** "

Harry fought his instinct to lick the thick, warm substance off his lips and felt the last shudder of Ouroboros' muscles twitching. The snake settled for a deep, growling hiss that he could feel reverberate in his skin, tendons, skull, maybe even his blood if he could concentrate on the sensation enough. It wasn't the sort of hiss that typically came up in a conversation with a snake, but Harry could feel somewhere in his chest with an absurdly high amount of certainty that the snake wasn't mad or upset. It was simply exhausted and unable to speak at the moment. He continued to hold his head still, and after a heartbeat or two Ouroboros hissed at almost whisper volume, " ** _Rwy'n oedi'r wawr_** ", before disappearing. Harry blinked at the sudden absence of warmth, but he couldn't help but feel a touch of relief that the blood on his face had disappeared as well.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Ifín](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/If%C3%ADn) is one of the [forfeda](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forfeda), the ‘extra’ letters of the [Ogham alphabet](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ogham#Alphabet:_the_Beith-Luis-Nin). [Peorð](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peor%C3%B0) is found in the Kent II, III and IV coin inscriptions and the [Westeremden yew-stick](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Westeremden_yew-stick), which also has two variants of [stan](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anglo-Saxon_runes#Rune_inventory). [Cotton Domitian](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_manuscripts_in_the_Cotton_library#Domitian) vs [Vienna Codex](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Codex_Vindobonensis_795) (technically simplified the names). Muin quote comes from [here](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Br%C3%ADatharogam) (scroll down). Visuals: Muin ᚋ [& # 5 7 7 1 ;] vs Naudiz ᚾ [& # 5 8 2 2 ;].


	16. Cracks (Sun)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> No updates to characters, ships, or tags.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> An extra chapter for New Year's Eve. Please stay safe, everyone; don't drink and drive, don't randomly fire off guns.

"Ah", Ron sprawled across the armchair in front of the fire with a satisfied sigh and carelessly plopped his bag on the floor, "The best part of December is that the house elves send up hot chocolate with dinner."

"Mm-mm", Harry hummed agreement and set his own bag on the floor a tad more gently than his friend had while pulling off his school robes. He draped them across the back of the plump armchair and piled his jumper on top. A quick roll of the sleeves to the elbow and the common room felt immeasurably more comfortable. Harry settled into his own chair and the moments of silence that the redhead needed after dinner to digest before they started working on their homework. He cleared his throat quietly and cast a Muffliato over the armchairs in case any of the other students wandered close to the fireplace, "It's December."

"Yeah?", Ron's voice sounded muffled, and Harry glanced over to see one long arm crossed over his face. He looked back to the fire in front of them and hoped his Gryffindor courage was simply hiding somewhere below his stomach on a temporary basis, "Break is two weeks away."

"Thank Merlin", Ron's voice sounded slightly less muffled and overwhelmingly relieved. Harry couldn't bring himself to tear the bandage off in one go and slid his palms along his thighs, wiping away probably imaginary sweat, "I know Molly extended an invitation for me to come with you to the Burrow this past summer. But…"

A suspicious prompt came from Harry's right, "But what? Mum and Dad are thrilled when you visit."

"Er", Harry stared down at his palms resting on his knees and took a deep breath, "I can't make it a full week, let alone two, without seeing Malfoy. The proximity thing."

"Oh", a soft slightly surprised exhale and the sound of fabric shifting were Ron's hints that he'd caught up with the awkwardness pouring off Harry's tense body. Harry pulled at the outer seam of his trousers, intent on watching the threads shift in the fire light, "Don't worry; Dumbledore has a plan. I'm going to pop by Hogsmeade for two brief daytime visits, and it should tide me over until this winter solstice party at Malfoy's place. A quick meetup on Christmas and just before New Year's should cover the rest of break."

"That sounds like a lot", Ron muttered before clearing his throat at some sudden realization, "Not that it's your fault, Harry. Stretching a proximity charm is uncomfortable, and if you need to see the Ferret that often, well", he paused and seemed unable to continue. Harry nodded and let out the breath he'd been holding during Ron's backpedaling, "We don't quite know the proximity limits yet, so we may not need as many visits as Dumbledore planned out."

"So, you're not coming home on Saturday", the disappointment took the edge off the question but Harry nodded all the same, and he turned his attention to the deep red embers at the base of the crackling logs, still unable to look his friend in the eye while talking about a bond issue, "Malfoy's staying in Hogsmeade for a bit and then going back to the manor. Dumbledore doesn't want all of the travel in one day to set off the bond. Sudden rapid distance can do weird things to proximity charms, or something like that."

"Well, we definitely don't want to find out what 'or something' might look like", Ron sounded a tad too cheerful to be genuine. Harry turned his head slightly and glanced to his right, trying to gauge how uncomfortable his friend was, but the redhead was still sprawled out in his armchair. He was either growing incrementally more tolerant to talk of the blood bond with how relaxed he still looked, or Ron was doing a surprisingly good job at acting relaxed so any passing students weren't tipped off to a serious conversation taking place under the cover of the Muffliato. A shifting of the red hair, a rough clearing of the throat, and Ron forced out a question that looked like it pained him to ask, "You're meeting on Christmas. Does that mean you have to get Ferret something?"

"Er", green eyes blinked in surprise, and blue eyes narrowed in sympathy as Ron grimaced at the thought of exchanging gifts with a Malfoy, "Dunno. We didn't say we would. I mean, do just barely acquaintances bother with that sort of thing?"

"If there wasn't a blood bond, I think a card would do", a pause and vague motion in Harry's direction, "But, well, I don’t know if there's proper etiquette rules for bonding before an engagement phase. Traditionally, the witch invites her fiancé over to meet the family at some sort of winter holiday, and he invites her over to meet his folks at some sort of summer event."

"Oh", Harry paused and found his hands fiddling with the gold embroidered seams of the deep red armchair without really thinking about it. He had a half-formed suspicion that the Tawch didn't follow that tradition, but there wasn't a good way to bring that up without talking about Dark lessons or the upcoming initiation. He settled for a small shrug and quiet half-truth, "I'm not sure the Malfoys do that sort of thing. He's brought up some relatives having same-sex spouses before."

"Can't say I'm surprised", Ron seemed to grumble out the dig more out of habit than malice. Harry let the silence tick on, a bit apprehensive of what side he could or should take when it came to Malfoy-Weasley relations. The families had been on the outs since before either he or Ron had existed, and there was only so much tolerance his surrogate family could put on when faced with generational habits. After a few more seconds, Ron sighed, mumbled something that sounded an awful lot like an apology if the fire weren't crackling louder than the words, and then pushed the conversation on with a normal volume, more helpful comment, "You said his family's holding a Yule party? You can get away with a card and a nice ink set then, since there'll be plenty of gifts in the other days of Yule."

"Winter solstice party", Harry corrected automatically, feeling a smidge like Hermione must feel when they misheard parts of their professors' lectures, "Alban Arthan."

"Don't joke, mate", Ron's voice had hardened slightly, and Harry turned in the armchair to fully look at him, brows drawn together in confusion. Freckles were standing out like Ron's face had a faint glimmer spell attached to it, but he looked like he was barely containing some sort of dark emotion. At Harry's confused expression, Ron forced himself to relax and explain, "Alban Arthan is an old, pre-Christian festival where someone was sacrificed for the sun to be reborn. Dark wizards and witches used to be fond of making enemies disappear right before the festival. When we were younger, Mum used to tell us that we'd better be good or the Dark wizards would steal us away on Alban Arthan and we'd get no Christmas presents."

"Sorry", Harry breathed reflexively, trying to diffuse the tense atmosphere suddenly surrounding their comfortable armchairs in the surprisingly empty common room. Other students were either still at dinner or had gone to the library instead of traipsing back up here, "I must've gotten the name wrong. It's supposed to be a one night Celtic version of Yule, or something like that."

"S'alright, you didn't know", Ron cracked a half-hearted grin and motioned to his bag, "Reckon we can't put off Potions forever, yeah?"

Harry nodded and kept his thoughts to himself as the fellow Gryffindor leaned over and pulled out a slightly bent roll of parchment and quill. He could hear Ouroboros' hissed warning - _Even when you are kind and helpful, the Helion will delight in burning away the Darkness_ \- being chased by Malfoy's bitter commentary from a month ago - _We're the boogeymen in the shadows…Helion are raised with stories about us kidnapping children, eating babies, hellbent on killing all the Light in the world…One stray hex and he'll call for your head with all the others_. He shook his head slightly and pushed those thoughts away, trying to ignore the sharp twisting feeling his gut. So, maybe Harry couldn't tell Ron about the Tawch and Dark lessons right now, but surely, there'd come a point later when he could talk about how much the Hels had gotten wrong, even if it was after defeating Voldemort with Dark magic.


	17. Starlings (M)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> No updates to characters, ships, or tags.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy New Year, readers. May 2019 be better to you than 2018.

Harry tapped his virens pencil against the square of parchment in front of him. The creamy expanse seemed to mock him and his jumbled thoughts. He needed to ask Malfoy about whether they were holding any other lessons before the ceremony because they hadn't worked that out in November. Tan fingers twirled the Astronomy pencil and the glimmering green tip left a trail in the air above his bowl of porridge that had been temporarily forgotten. The early block of breakfast was too quiet this morning, and Harry could practically hear every chink of the shifting gears as his thoughts bounced. He didn't want to write that Ron had been such a Hel the night before, but he wanted to ask more about Alban Arthan and whether it had ever actually been a human sacrifice festival in the time of the Britons or one of the Celts. It was a bit heavy topic for a Monday morning and probably more suited to a face-to-face conversation, though. He settled for what was immediately necessary to know, since Malfoy hadn't appeared in the Great Hall for tea yet, _The entrails are bit unclear on whether we have lessons or not in December. Interpretative assistance appreciated._ A quick fold, the familiar murmured spell, and the paper crane floated off towards the door.

"You alright?"

"Hmm?", Harry turned to the concerned whisper of his friend and frowned slightly at Hermione's perfectly assembled uniform. Not a shirttail untucked, jumper sleeves bunched up, uneven tie knot, or robes slung over her bag. Her Half Windsor had even been upgraded to a Full, and Harry nodded to himself, relaxing somewhat at her tell. She slid into place at his right and started preparing a cup of tea with a smidge more sugar and three extra stirs than normal. The brunette was placating her nerves at a quiz or test coming up, and considering the only class Harry didn't share with her today, Hermione had an Arithmancy test. She'd throw herself into her classes, disappear during lunch into the bowels of the library to cram for the test despite studying well in advance, and she'd somehow keep herself from snapping under the internal pressure after Herbology by reciting her notes to her knitting. Then she'd ace the test and relax at dinner. Honestly, he wasn't sure why she'd bothered continuing with the highly stressful class beyond OWLs because it was probably ruining her blood pressure.

"You usually only show up this early when you have a nightmare", Hermione continued her means of distraction from academic matters while doctoring a bowl of oatmeal with raisins. Harry shook his head and dug into his porridge. After a moment or two of eating in what he thought was companionable silence, he gave into the sidelong glances from her still concerned brown eyes. A Muffliato was whispered into place, and Harry reiterated, "I didn't have a nightmare, Mione. I needed a little time to think before classes, and no one bothers me this early in the morning."

"It is a bit strange to see you not crawling in at the last minute", Hermione's voice had a gentle tease, and Harry couldn't really fight the statement. He had a long history of struggling to get to breakfast on time, which wasn't exactly helped by Ron's issues with getting up early, and it was a simple truth. He'd also never experienced the ache of welding shadows radiating out from his core to various muscles until this year, and it was much more tiring to use Dark magic than he'd ever expected. There was little else that could knock him out within minutes yet wind up having him up early because he'd slept so deeply, but it wasn't something he wanted to pick apart right now. Harry decided to let the fair observation stand on its own and spoke carefully around his porridge, "Last night I gave Ron a heads up about needing to visit Malfoy over the break with the whole proximity thing going on. A few Hogsmeade visits, a winter solstice party, and because one of the visits is Christmas, he asked if I was getting Malfoy a gift."

A moment of silence as Hermione took a sip of her tea, and Harry couldn't see through her bushy brown hair to her face from this angle. Nodding hello to a student he didn't recognize in Hufflepuff, who was probably in one of her classes, had stolen his friend's attention, but finally, Hermione prompted, "Well, are you?"

"Should I?", Harry tried to sound as sincere as possible instead of whiny, and he must have succeeded because his fellow Gryffindor started in with her patient 'leading you to the answer' voice, "Imagine being raised with lessons on social etiquette and having different types of gifts for social circles. For example, acquaintances may all get a card, while closer friends get some sort of gift under a certain cost. You don't offend someone by not getting them anything, but you don't necessarily have to get a highly personalized or expensive item for everyone you know."

"Well, when you put it like that", Harry muttered and gave his porridge a vicious swirl with his spoon. It was the opposite of a surprise, but that didn't make the second opinion that he should go ahead and consider a gift for Malfoy any easier to accept. He muttered more to the spoonful of porridge than to Hermione proper, "What exactly do you get a rival turned accidental spouse then? They don't exactly make cards for that, do they?"

Hermione stifled a small laugh and took a long drink of her tea to clear her throat, "As long as he doesn't open it in front of his family, you could make one. I'm sure there's a market for that just waiting to be tapped."

Harry joined in on her chuckling and shook his head, his short lived irritation vanishing with the lighter atmosphere, "Feels like a cop out unless I play it off as a gag gift, or something. His family knows I can afford to buy a real card at the very least."

"What about a Quidditch related item?", Hermione's suggestion was so sincere that Harry almost felt bad for wincing and shaking his head, "Part of my evidence for Malfoy being up to something at the start of term was that he dropped out of the team."

"Oh", Hermione looked apologetic while stirring her oatmeal, "I've been paying more attention to my studies than Quidditch this year", a brief pause and a lowering of her voice even with the Muffliato still in place, "Did you ever find out if he was up to something?"

"Er", Harry thought over the secrets Ouroboros had told him as the fire-grass snake. Saying Malfoy had been up to something was incredibly mild, but it wasn't his place to reveal how the Slytherin had turned spy and was now playing into some sort of larger scheme of Dumbledore's. He wasn't entirely sure how the ancient serpent got its information, but there was probably a secrecy vow involved if both Malfoy and Snape were unable to divulge their roles in fighting Voldemort and Harry shouldn't mess with their ability to do that. He settled for a vague wave of his spoon and half shrug, "I know Malfoy was under a lot of stress, but we honestly avoid talking about that because it leads around to the fight on Hallowe'en."

"That sounds like a step in the direction of civility", Hermione sounded a bit impressed and ever so slightly pleased that Harry hadn't stayed in his old habits of fighting Malfoy at every turn. He couldn't blame her for assuming the two of them would've tried to keep to their well-worn and familiar scripts because it had been a definite effort in the beginning to not do so. If it weren't for the newness and unfamiliar territory of the Dark lessons, Harry wasn't entirely sure they could've formed their current truce and settled for civility so quickly. He nodded and took a sip of his pumpkin juice, "We're trying. I guess we're sorta acquaintances?"

"Even with the bond", each word was being weighed carefully, thoughtfully, and Harry trusted that Hermione wasn't blowing the admission off, even if it wasn't earth shattering compared to technical marriage, "I don't think you two know each other well enough to pull off a grand gesture. You should play it safe with a nice quill, or something along those lines."

"I'm not sure I can compete with a hummingbird quill", Hermione's eyebrow rose, but she ate her oatmeal in silence. Harry scraped the last of his porridge together and tried to play an example of his lack of Wizarding world knowledge off, "Malfoy just let it go during lessons, and apparently, they hover from an inherent property of the hummingbird feather or whatever."

"There's a display of non-owl feathers at Scrivenshaft's", Hermione sounded like she was keeping herself from getting excited, and Harry wondered briefly if she'd been waiting for an excuse to bring this up because Ron hadn't been nearly as excited to hear about the stationary store, "Starling feathers look nice without being flashy - dark almost black until the light hits, and you can get some hints of purples, greens, blues."

"What about the inherent trait side effect?", Harry kept the question neutral, but he was willing to bet he would never live it down if he picked out a quill based on how it looked, especially if there were a ridiculous side effect like uncontrollable singing. It wouldn't surprise him when it came to starlings. Hermione took an innocent sip of her tea, "Mimicry manifests itself in these quills as being able to mimic someone's handwriting. They're looked down upon in classes due to plagiarizing concerns, but I imagine it could be useful outside of class."

Harry hummed in agreement and pushed his empty porridge bowl away from him slightly. It was the right amount of potentially questionable usage for a Llwydnos, but it wasn't clearly illegal to acquire or use in and of itself. He had to admit it did sound like a safe yet acceptable gift, and Malfoy would either add it to his collection of other starling quills or have something new to mess around with. Harry nodded to himself while sipping his pumpkin juice, "I'll stop by Scrivenshaft's this weekend then. Worse comes to worse a different quill will jump out of the display."

"Didn't you say you were visiting for Yule?", Hermione was buttering a piece of toast over her empty oatmeal bowl, and Harry debated the futility of correcting her. As a Muggle-born, she definitely wouldn't have any stories about her mum threatening her with Dark wizards coming to steal her away on Alban Arthan, but she practically lived in the library and might have come across a less than pleasant explanation of the holiday. He settled for a half-correction, "It's a winter solstice party, but it's not Yule."

"Well", Hermione took a bite of her toast and washed it down with tea, "You should check with Malfoy about whether his family expects a gift on the winter solstice. It's common on Yule, but you did say you were meeting on Christmas."

"This winter solstice event is a Tawch thing", Harry waved his hand vaguely, "I'm not sure if they'll exchange presents if the party's that big. Christmas sounds like it'll be a small family affair."

"Still, check with Malfoy. It's better to have an extra gift than to not have an expected one."

"Fine", Harry grumbled into his pumpkin juice, disliking that his friend had a point even if it did make more sense to have a just in case gift, "I'll try to find two quills at Scrivenshaft's, or maybe some ink to go with the starling one."

Hermione's reply, "It's the last Hogsmeade visit this term, so you'll want to go before lunch to avoid the crowd", was cut off by the gentle swish of a message being delivered. The delicate looking creamy dragon unfolded as it landed in Harry's upturned palm, and green eyes squinted slightly at the tiny cursive, _Maybe throwing a few bones would help with interpreting entrails. Regardless, no more lessons until the ceremony. Father and Sev think too much spell work beforehand is leading to your quick shadow build up (not uncommon as a side effect in some wixen). Mind your fingers - Creisioni._ Harry reread the last line, brows drawn together in confusion, until he noticed the dot above one of the 'i's was a deep red in contrast to the rest of the black ink. The red bloomed into a small flame, and Harry quickly dropped the piece of smoldering parchment into his porridge bowl as it burned into a small pile of ashes. He brushed his hands over the bowl and shook his head at the unexpected but quite useful ashes given the sensitive nature of the note. A starling quill would fit just fine with Malfoy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Knots](http://www.shirtsmyway.com/articles/different-ways-how-to-tie-a-tie-knots.php):  
>  Half Windsor knot  
> 
> 
>  
> 
> versus [Full] Windsor knot  
> 
> 
>  
> 
> I also tried to find an image of the iridescence I was trying to describe when it comes to the [European Starling](https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/European_Starling/id):  
> 


	18. Bonsai (W)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Added to Tags: Herbology

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had an absurd amount of Feelings about incorporating bonsai into East Asian magic when I wrote this chapter. Like, okay, I guess I could make shit up for Herbology homework because magical plants don't have to be 'real'. BUT, listen, bonsai have been cultivated for at least a thousand years, not including the original Chinese practice of penjing and other related Asian practices, so _someone_ at some point would start to do magical shit with them, I guarantee it. Unfortunately, I am but an avid Wiki reader and not knowledgeable in this area, but I had to get this headcanon out somewhere.

"Fucking bonsai", Harry swore to himself and opened his third - or was it fourth - book on bonsai styles. The deep purple book to his left, _The Magic of Trunk Orientation_ , was open to the page on cascade style with a picture of an example with a conifer tilted sideways and down below the pot. _Scratching the Surface: Trunk and Bark Surface Styles in Magic_ , covered by a close-up of an off-white tree with diagonal slashes in its bark, was open to a large diagram of a rather aesthetically pleasing Dwarf Japanese Juniper with circles and arrows leading to the names of the deadwood techniques that had been combined in this example of the driftwood style. A large book to the far right with rock samples on its cover, _Root Placement & Rocks in Asian Magic_, was open to the introduction on combining the growing-in-a-rock style with the magical properties of stones and crystals. The pale green book next to the one that seemed obsessed with quartz, _Seeing the Trees for the Forest: Multiplying Magic with Multi-Trunk Bonsai Styles_ , was open to the chapter on the twin-trunk style with an example of an elm taking up most of the page. That would make this dark gray text the fifth book on bonsai styles and how they affect magic. It was supposed to be a relatively quick introduction to the vague other category that Professor Sprout had been adamant they needed to cover in this paper with the more common categories, but it didn't seem to be quick or very introductory friendly.

"And their fucking thousand year history of cultivation for magical uses", Harry continued to grumble to himself while spreading out the pages torn from his Herbology notebook for notetaking and shifted his spare notebooks farther away in the semi-circle taking up the table. Objectively, he knew it wasn't any of the plants' faults that their greenhouse had experienced a complicated failure of the climate recreation spells, so the practical work with bonsai had been delayed until sometime in the spring term. The paper covering the different styles and how they were used in East Asian magic had been a typical assignment. Personally, it felt like the addition to their paper to cover the basics of wood choice and container choice (or rock choice if choosing one of those styles) in an example of their own making was simply a way to make Harry suffer. He wasn't a stranger to trees having different magical properties (hello, wands) or colors affecting magic (thank you, Divination), but creating a bonsai spell was not what he considered an introduction to this magic. Hypothetically, creating a spell should be relatively easy, but the class would then have to use their papers to grow the spell in the spring, and even the slightest error in growing and pruning a slanting style could render it a windswept and alter the magical outcome.

"You do know that Professor Sprout is willing to accept purely hypothetical examples in this paper, right?"

Harry turned a slightly dead expression on the one student who had approached the zone of stress despite the reputation of Slytherins having a large self-preservation instinct. Perhaps the discarded robes and jumper under the unopened stack of books covering the indexes of trees and their magical properties didn't make the Gryffindor look disheveled enough to avoid. He'd rolled up his sleeves to his elbows over an hour ago and had been jotting down ideas in glimmering blue ink across his forearm, and the use of his tie as a bookmark had probably convinced most students below OWL level that he was too far gone for conversation tonight. His normally untidy hair sticking up in random places and mumbling to himself were just the cherry on the top of the 'do not talk to me' sundae. Except the impeccably dressed blond in front of him had spoken. Harry blinked slowly, "She specifically said that we'd be growing these bonsai spells come spring so we shouldn't just throw something together."

"Susan Bones brought up the lack of a full arboretum to choose our trees from. For example, we have plenty of field maple because it's native, but Professor Sprout can't guarantee we would all have access to the full range of Asian varieties like the Japanese maple or Trident maple."

Harry continued to blink in the direction of the pale gray eyes that were hard to read right now. Was it sympathy or amusement or pity? He was finding it hard to care because one of the untapped points of stress that had been nagging at the corner of his attention in the past hour was the fear that whatever carefully selected tree he'd picked out wouldn't be available. And now the concern had been trotted out into the light and shot down with the important news that the example could be hypothetical. His gaze had slid down to the neat Fishbone knot of Malfoy's tie, though Harry couldn't exactly say why it had happened, and he sighed, a small defeated sound in the library. Harry stared down at the notebook page in front of him, letting his eyes unfocus on the skeletal outline, and he ignored the chair on the opposite side of the table creaking slightly as Malfoy sat down. The other boy continued in a quiet voice, "Professor Sprout will be sharing a list of the trees and containers they're setting up in the greenhouse in the next class."

Harry closed his eyes and slowly leaned forward to rest his forehead against the top margin of the notebook paper. When the fuck had Professor Sprout said that? Was this what happened when students lingered after class? They got the gifts from the homework gods early? He kept his thoughts to himself and let Malfoy's explanation wash over him in the neutral tutorial voice that had been reserved for their Dark lessons, "She wants our papers to go into a nuanced and more complex example without being burdened by practicalities, and there may be bonus points if we can simplify our hypothetical examples into a reasonable simpler version with the supplies on hand. So if you work backwards from the supply lists…"

Harry sighed and mumbled as loudly as he dared to not attract attention from Madam Pince, "I'll have a general idea that can be fleshed out with more detail, which will be easier than this top down approach."

"You're welcome", Malfoy's tone sounded pleasant enough that Harry didn't want to waste energy raising his head to glare at him. The prat had grown somewhat immune to study and homework related glaring after the not so pretty or quiet efforts to memorize the futhorc, and he still didn't want to admit that copying out his notes by hand had been helped by the verbal recitation. It was like he married a taller, slimmer male-Hermione. Harry shook his head to dislodge that surprising thought and raised his head slightly to peek at the too quiet side of the table where Malfoy was sitting. He was thumbing through one of the notebooks that had been spread around the table, and Harry squinted at the familiar blue cover until it clicked which subject that was for.

"Oy", his exclamation was half-hearted at best, and Malfoy barely glanced up before continuing to browse the pages, "Could you not?"

"It was sitting out where anyone could read it", Harry's eyes narrowed at the cavalier tone, but he hated to admit that it was a valid point. It was an unfortunate habit that he carried the journal around in his bag more often than not, which did leave it vulnerable to other students reading it. He sighed and wracked his brain for whether or not anything particularly embarrassing might be in there. Nothing came to mind, but he did hold out his hand expectantly before Malfoy could reach any of the parts about Ouroboros, "Do you mind?"

Malfoy closed the notebook and passed it over without voicing any objections. Harry sat up so he could slide it into his bag and ignored the quiet question, "You do know there's not going to be a test, right?"

"If you must know", Harry motioned to the other notebooks spread out across the table, "I do better with the Muggle methods I learned first."

"Your penmanship is better with these methods than when you use a quill", Malfoy's voice sounded like it pained him to make the admission, but his face had maintained its neutral expression. Harry squinted slightly, but no, there hadn't been a twitch of the lips holding back a smirk or a shift of the eyebrows. He prodded at the nearest pencil and shrugged, "You literally throw around words in a different language, so I have to do something to remember them all."

"We learn from our family and any Masters in a particular topic, so the primary transmission is oral", Malfoy spoke quietly and kept his eyes trained on his hands clasped in front of him on the table, "Each family within the Tawch has its own grimoire, so we always have that source to consult if we haven't reached a particular stage in our studies or the topic falls outside our Master's tutelage."

"I mean, that does make sense", Harry paused and tried to collect his thoughts, a part of him not wanting to poke at the topic they had mutually agreed to ignore until this moment presented itself, "But I figured you'd rather die than let me see any already written material", he overrode the surprised quirk of Malfoy's eyebrow, "May be a slight exaggeration, but it wasn't a secret that you were holding back and didn't really trust me until after the incident outside the library."

"Gwyllon don't exactly have precedent for blindly trusting someone championed by the Hels to fight against their representation of the supposed Dark community", Malfoy's tone almost slipped into something apologetic as he continued, "I thought you might be on a fishing expedition for Dumbledore and the Order. It wouldn't be the first time that a Hel tried to infiltrate our community and use knowledge in a future raid."

"I thought so when we got to the magical flavor mixing theory", Harry ran his thumb along the edge of _Scratching the Surface_ 's back cover. There was a vague curiosity at the mixing of deadwood and living wood, and even if he wasn't interested in the alchemical possibilities of elongated life like one of the authors was, that liminal straddling had a peculiar allure. He didn't want to think about the parallels to a young Tom Riddle with horcruxes and refocused onto the conversation, "Hence the initiation ceremony."

"If it makes you feel any better, all people undergoing initiation into the Tawch have secrecy vows incorporated into their ceremony", Malfoy waved a hand in a small gesture between them, "So, it's not personal per se."

"I can't say I'm surprised", Harry shuffled the papers around him while looking for his pen. He'd sacrificed the deep blue ink to the Astronomy glimmer spell so he could see the ink better against his skin in the dimmer area of the library he was sitting in. He scrawled out a note, _dead j-white pine (longevity), living yew (death)_ , next to an earlier note about deadwood and possible protective uses. The idea simmering away somewhere on a backburner in his mind certainly wasn't solid enough to want to personally test out, but the point in a hypothetical example was being able to do the research into whether wards needed to be specific or not and whether a specific means of death could be warded against. Malfoy hummed more to himself than to Harry and cleared his throat politely to get the full attention of puzzled green eyes behind black glasses, "An exchange of assistance? Professor Burbage had to assign a large chunk of reading material after being distracted by another tangent in class."

"Muggle Studies", Harry answered his own personal question about who Burbage was and shrugged half-heartedly, "I can try, but some of this stuff isn't exactly taught in detail in Muggle schools."

"Apparently, one of the possible test questions concerns how electric typewriters are different from the Olivetti", Malfoy glanced down at a scroll with a suspicious undercurrent that the compiler of these questions was fabricating the content. Harry scratched at the back of his neck, already feeling like he was out of his league when it came to the first of who knows how many questions. It probably wouldn't go over well if he suggested asking Hermione, so he took a hesitant breath, "Er, what is an Olivetti?"

Malfoy's eyes narrowed as he came to the same realization that Harry may not be very much help, but he gave an explanation in his tutorial voice, "The most well-known and frequently used typewriter in the British Wizarding market. An Italian half-blood founded the company in the early 1900s. Olivetti also sold in the Muggle markets, but our book makes no mention of an example of an electric model from the company."

"Do you have a diagram of the electric typewriter?", Harry motioned to the scroll. Malfoy pulled a thick, surprisingly bright orange book from his bag and started flipping past small slips of paper bookmarking certain chapters. After a few seconds, Malfoy turned the book and tapped a diagram with three deconstructed images. Harry squinted and tilted his head, a little unsure of whether he knew what some of these words meant even if they looked familiar. Did the book sneak in some Italian because of Olivetti, or were they getting random Latin? He grimaced and took a stab at the diagrams, "The Olivetti looks manual like the old typewriters where you hit the key and it moves directly to the paper. The one in the middle looks like the electric one because it's almost the same as the mechanical. That part in the middle is where the motor looking thing converts your keystroke into the key hitting the page. If I'm reading the arrow and description properly."

"If the motor is doing the same work as a keystroke", Malfoy scowled down at the diagrams that were upside down to him, "What is the point of using a motor?"

"To save energy", Harry's voice rose slightly and turned the answer into a question. Gray eyes darkened - Harry tried to ignore the feeling of watching clouds build into a storm during the summer - and narrowed slightly, but Malfoy simply hummed at the offensive book. The Gryffindor felt a strange urge to defend the curious looking change someone way back had decided was a good idea, "I mean, it doesn't look like it'd save much, but that's usually the point in a motor or electric component being added to something manual. Somewhere in the whole process, energy is being saved."

"So, Muggles went from this", a pale finger tapped on the middle diagram and then slid over to Harry's far right, "To this?"

"Well", Harry stalled, "I can definitely say they didn't do that overnight. That number in the description looks more like a year than part of the model number, so the electric ones started coming out in the 1920s. The last image is from the 80s, so they had 60-some years to make intermediary changes. It sort of looks like a baby computer, actually."

"Computer?", Malfoy repeated the word slowly with a mildly confused look. Harry sighed and assumed computers were in a later chapter. He rubbed the back of his neck for a few seconds and then pointed at the specific differences in the diagram, "The typing setup is like a keyboard and would translate to typing at a computer. That rectangle is the display screen, but it's smaller than a computer screen. With the electronic typewriter, you type and see the words on the screen first so you can make edits, and then you choose the correct buttons to tell the electronic components to print what you've typed on the paper."

"And this saves energy?", the dubious question almost seemed funny, but Harry wasn't sure if it was because he was starting to crack under the pressure of trying to explain Muggle objects that typically didn't need explained. He nodded and waved a hand in a vague gesture, "Differences in typing and correcting mistakes before they're printed at the very least saves paper."

"I guess", Malfoy turned the book to face him and jotted something down on his scroll of parchment with a quill. His eyebrows had risen just enough that Harry could tell he wasn't buying the explanation, but Harry didn't really know enough about the history of typing and printing to do Hermione proud with a long lecture. He settled for a short version that would hopefully still do Muggles justice, "The printing press was like the grandfather of the manual typewriter, and all of these changes Muggles have made to typewriters have been so that they can have a standard for typed writing. So, you don't have to rely on writing everything out by hand."

"The Wizarding world follows the same general principle", Malfoy looked up from his scroll, and his eyes had lightened somewhat into a shade of gray that could only call to mind smoke trapped in ice, "Typewriters are instrumental with pre-fabricated forms and filing across multiple industries - patient intake at hospitals, financial forms for accountants, business inventory and sales, etc. It's the final form that reporters must submit their stories in before being reformatted and worked into the paper, and the vast majority of universities only accept papers and essays in typed format whether submitting to a class or journal."

"Well most people don't do all of those things all day", Harry motioned to the scroll Malfoy had paused writing on, "Muggles type out their first drafts, their letters and correspondence, and even their more everyday stuff on typewriters. So, they wanted to make the process easier."

"A typed letter can be a sign of dictation in certain businesses", Malfoy twirled his quill and went back to jotting down notes on his Muggle Studies scroll, "Or a sign of a mass produced letter with very little personalization, and quite likely, very little thought to the specific recipient. Going to the effort of writing by hand shows -- "

"That you're a stuffy old man trapped in the body of a teenager", Harry grumbled and went back to writing on his own notebook page, taking down the synopsis of the windswept style and its page number. He thought he could hear the faint grinding noise of Malfoy's teeth, but he was quite sure that a comment about eventually needing dentures might get him that scarily large Muggle Studies book to the face. Both of them had Seeker reflexes, and it wouldn't be pretty or comfortable to test if he could dodge the text. The Gryffindor scrawled across the inside of his left palm another note in the glimmering blue ink, _Fountain pen_. Harry couldn't see Malfoy voluntarily using a pen on his own, but perhaps the son of the quill would be familiar enough for him to try. Maybe the small step in keeping a quill sharpened being skipped would be enough for one test run.

"Rwy'n oedi'r wawr."

Harry looked up from his sixth book about bonsai magic, _Containers and Decorative Elements: How to Alter Magical Intent After Growing_ , and its surprisingly novice friendly introduction on how small steps like changing the pot a bonsai was housed in after initial cultivation could alter its spell. He blinked at the prepared bag being slung over a shoulder and the blond standing in front of him, patiently waiting for a response, "I thought you had another question?"

"Perhaps another night", Malfoy's tone had a disturbing mix of polite sincerity and deceit that had been honed over the years by practice Harry didn't want particulars on. It was a socialite's graceful exit without committing to any further arrangements if he ever saw one, but something about the way his eyes narrowed or glanced up over the top of his glasses must have caught Malfoy's attention. He paused in turning, "We don't all borrow Sinistra's telescopes and amplificos, Potter, and I'm certainly not lugging my case through the library."

"Ah", Harry nodded and gave the awaited response, "Rwy'n oedi'r wawr."

He glanced away from the retreating black robes and turned his attention back to the book in front of him. He'd flipped forward somewhat in the chapters and stopped at one of the diagrams with an example of a historical bonsai spell, _Japanese white pine (longevity), informal upright style (return to, maintenance of), mirror surrounded by eight white stones (see Yata no Kagami), earthen pot (i.e. dark green or dark brown, to ground), cultivate while pruning away lies. A bonsai spell for the truth._ Harry stared at the picture and slowly mulled over the potential benefits of multiplying the magic by changing the style designation to a twin-trunk with the other tree cascading off to the side and down with the end directly below the starting point in a more dramatic mirror to the gentle bend of the lone tree in the picture. It was less theoretically fascinating, less life and death being played with in the sculpted tree, than his original notes had bounced around with. He glanced to the index of traditional bonsai trees and found the page with the Japanese maple to jot down the meaning, _Patience in change_. It certainly wasn't traditional to use two different species in the twin-trunk style, but perhaps Sprout would hear him out on separation for a two-tree style.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fishbone [Knot](http://www.shirtsmyway.com/articles/different-ways-how-to-tie-a-tie-knots.php):
> 
>  


	19. Gelt & Guilt (F)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Added to Characters: Anthony Goldstein, Pansy Parkinson, OMC(s), OFC(s)  
> Added to Tags: Magical Religions, Jewish Characters, Hanukkah

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> From [book] canon, it's not 100% exactly known what irl town Hogwarts may be found near, but there's plausible evidence for [Argyll](http://members.madasafish.com/~cj_whitehound/Fanfic/map_of_Hogwarts/location.htm), which is the place I used for this. In the PoA movie, Hermione has a line about [Dufftown](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dufftown#Popular_culture) being nearby, but I had honestly forgotten about that at the time of trying to write this chapter out. This might be very nitpicky considering how I'm not exactly writing to canon anyway, but for ease of consistent Googling, I needed to pick one irl location to get my sunset times for (because it matters for Hanukkah).
> 
> Update: As of 2.16.19, there are non plot updates relating to Hanukkah details. For a full breakdown of the revisions, see this post: [(Revision) Ch 19](http://lapsed-bookworm.tumblr.com/post/182853069216/revision-ch-19-gelt-guilt).

Harry squinted at the neat cursive note written in the margin of the scroll with his spell-copied introduction to Part III: Cosmology and Dark Energy. There was no doubt that Malfoy's suggestion in the pale blue of Astronomy ink was a reference to one of the earlier chapters in _The Dark Universe_ , but it made no sense when Harry didn't have either of the earlier two parts spell-copied, and unfortunately, the library didn't carry Muggle books even if they were course materials. He glanced to the darker scrap of parchment tucked under the cream scroll wistfully and felt his fingers twitch with the tweaks of improvement he could make to his bonsai spell after getting the lists of basic supplies in class earlier in the day. A firm shake of the head and strands of black hair shifted in their self-sustained spikes and tufts. Harry was going to give himself a break from Herbology because he did have other homework that he could be working on. He dug out a square of parchment and his caeruleus pencil, a dark shade of blue, to write the somewhat helpful owner of _The Dark Universe_ a note, _Writing notes about parts of a book I haven't read or spell-copied is about as helpful as Trelawney telling me to "open my inner eye" to see the future. Sometimes an intestine is just an intestine and the shape of the blood clots don't mean anything, you know?_

Harry had folded the paper crane and sent it off to deliver the message before he realized he hadn't actually written down the part about needing to borrow the book. He refrained from smacking his own forehead by sheer determination to follow the stupid bird. It had turned out that the Gryffindor didn't need to worry about traipsing around the castle because the gentle flutter of paper wings had to only wind its way to a table on the adjacent wall in the dimmer lit section of Transfiguration books devoted to human transformations. Malfoy was already packing his books and notebooks of parchment into his bag when the crane patiently landed on top of the nearest book, and he frowned slightly as Harry followed the note to the table with a hand outstretched to intercept it before it could unfold. Gray eyes narrowed, and with the reflexes of a Seeker, the blond deftly plucked the crane from the book cover first. He glanced to the apologetic green eyes with a slightly amused expression, "You have to remember the color of the blood clots in addition to the shapes, Potter. Here I thought you were gaining some skill in the fine art of reading entrails."

Harry rolled his eyes and shrugged slightly while motioning to the note, "I got distracted before finishing it. I meant to ask about borrowing _The Dark Universe_ so your reference suggestions would make more sense, especially since the author keeps referencing the first part anyway."

Malfoy folded the piece of parchment and tucked it into a trouser pocket while flicking his wand at the stack of Transfiguration books so they would float back to their proper places on the shelves. He motioned ahead of him and Harry followed at a slight enough distance that it wouldn't look like they were walking together. A corridor away from the library and shorter legs worked to catch up with an irritated huff at how leisurely Malfoy seemed to be walking. When the hell had the git gotten so tall? A nonchalant glance at a watch with an extra ring around the numbers to show the planets and Earth's moon in some sort of configuration seemed to show the Slytherin a later time than he'd expected to see because he sped up his pace while muttering, "Pansy will kill me if she can't start reciting the first blessing exactly at sundown."

Harry grumbled and tried to keep up with the newer pace (apparently, this was Malfoy's speed walk), and he was rather glad he'd picked up a decent layout of the dungeons after looking at the Marauder's Map for so long. It'd probably been too long since he and Ron had Polyjuice'd their way into the Slytherin common room to rely solely on that distant memory for these twists and turns. Finally, Malfoy spoke the password, "Mors vincit omnia", to the wall as he strode to the archway filled with cobblestones, confident that it would disappear to let him through in time, and Harry rushed forward to slip into the cool stone room before the archway could close. He'd obviously been allowed inside previously, but there was still an unexplainable fear that the stones would sense the red and gold colors on his uniform and change their mind. He took a few steps into the room so he wasn't blocking the entrance and waited near the closest couch, a soft bottle green fabric, trying to take deep breaths and not sound like he had all but jogged down the corridors to get there.

"You know I like to light the chanukiah on time, dear", a terse statement cut across the common room, and Harry found himself instinctively holding his breath as he looked towards the fireplace. The recognizable short brown bob of Pansy Parkinson stood out among a small group of students who looked to be mostly younger and shorter than her. Her bright blue eyes were boring into the blond hair of the student who hadn't slowed down the pace of their quick, long strides. Malfoy waved a hand in acknowledgement and disappeared down a shadowy corridor on the other side of the room, camouflaged eerily well with the black of his school robes. The not so pleased witch turned slightly to look at Harry, which prompted several of the students around her to glance back towards the archway as well. They looked more curious than upset, and one of the smallest, a short girl with dark curls and a bright smile - probably a first year - bravely waved in his direction. He waved back and hoped his small attempt at a smile didn't look like a grimace. A soft snick sounded behind him, and he turned without thinking to see Anthony Goldstein, a Ravenclaw from his year, confidently walking into the common room with a younger student in blue and bronze. Anthony nodded politely and Harry returned the gesture, still feeling like he was on some level of autopilot, when the sharp ring of dress shoes striking bare stone came from the direction Malfoy had gone.

"Now that everyone is here", Parkinson paused and her blue eyes lingered on the surprisingly nonchalant form of Malfoy standing at the back of the ring of students with his bag still slung over one shoulder and the black cover of his Astronomy book tucked under his arm. He didn't look like he had just raced here to whatever was about to happen so his fellow Slytherin would be able to happily start on time, and Harry had no idea how the blond could look so unruffled. Could Light magic do that? He surely wouldn't waste shadow build up by using Dark magic for something like this. It was hardly fair if the prat could achieve that well put together look without trying, but Harry shook his head slightly as the piercing blue eyes swung his way in the midst of that thought. Like hell he needed Parkinson to be mad at him, even if he wasn't entirely sure what for. Existing, probably; existing in her common room, most likely. She turned back to the mantle of the fireplace, a slab of dark gray and shimmering green spiderwebbed marble sitting on the carved pale gray serpents jutting from the gray stone of the rest of the walls and floor. A rather small looking bronze menorah was sitting on the far right side with green and blue swirled candles sitting unlit. Parkinson cleared her throat and glanced at her watch, "Thankfully, we're right on time for the explanation for first years and inter-House guests", she gestured to the mantle, "Slytherin has an unofficial tradition to put out a different chanukiah for each year, and the chanukiah for first years always goes above the mantle."

Parkinson took a step to the side of the fireplace and gestured down towards the floor. Harry took a step forward and glanced around the pairing of Brunswick green armchairs that had been blocking his view of the rest of the menorahs lined up near the bottom of the nearly floor to ceiling glass windows that looked out into the lake, which was an enchanting pale grayish-green color tonight. If Harry hadn't been able to see the brown and deeper green reeds swaying gently at the bottom of the window, he almost would've bet it was another selection of marble that had been framed by curlicue iron. As it was, it was a pleasant backdrop to the collection of menorahs with their unlit candles waiting. The majority of the Slytherins in their semi-circle dispersed to kneel in front of their respective menorah on small pine stools about a foot off the floor. The first one looked to be the same size as the one Harry had seen in his own common room in years past, so he figured it was probably the standard size. The menorah was silver with white candles, and the sandy brown hair couldn't have belonged to someone older than a second year. Now that he was looking at the students and their relative heights, the order looked to be sequential with the farthest menorah on the right belonging to the seventh years. Parkinson waved her wand to levitate the menorah for first years down onto a nearby side table designated for the purpose by a deep blue cloth that protected the dark walnut from dripping wax. She motioned to the candles for the benefit of the two first years more so than the guests, "The prefects are allowed to extinguish any unaccompanied candles after a half hour, so it’s important we don’t all leave them unattended, okay?"

The young girl nodded and glanced to the witch at her side, olive skin and coppery red hair shone in the firelight of the torches distributed around the common room in serpentine sconces. Harry looked to his peer Anthony who was standing beside the younger Ravenclaw with an encouraging hand draped across his shoulders. From the brief snatches of their whispered conversation, the younger boy was a first year in Ravenclaw and Anthony's cousin. Despite the House rivalry, Anthony was making a concerted effort to support his fellow Jewish students and had therefore accepted Parkinson's invitation to attend the menorah lighting. Harry wondered if the Schneider or Kleid families that sent their children through Gryffindor like clockwork had received an invitation, but he had to admit he didn't know the families well enough to guess at whether they'd have accepted or not. The closest Schneider to his year was an incredibly tall, intimidating seventh year, and the closest Kleid was a fourth year who preferred to hang out with his gaggle of cousins in his year. Harry probably could've tried to make an effort to get to know the students in other years in his House better, but he'd barely been able to keep up with his own year and their drama if he was honest. Voldemort certainly didn't make matters easier, but perhaps it would've been less confusing if he'd have asked to attend the lighting of the gold menorah in Gryffindor at some point. Harry had only ever seen the red candles already lit and had zero clue of what was going on.

"Ahem", Parkinson cleared her throat to get the attention of the slightly older students kneeling in front of their years' menorahs who had begun to chit chat among themselves while she explained things to the first years. She motioned to the copper haired girl, who must have been the one selected to do the actions, and settled into a lower, calming tone of voice, "No fancy spells to show off lighting the shamash, everyone. Please use the box of matches at the base of your chanukiah, so we have the least amount of accidents."

Parkinson glanced around the room to make sure that each of the students had successfully lit their center candles before continuing, "Please hold the shamash with your dominant hand and we'll recite the blessings slowly", a brief glance to Malfoy, "If you wouldn't mind translating for our goy", he nodded, she took a deep breath, and Harry realized that everyone else in the room had mirrored her right before a medley of slow foreign words were being recited by almost everyone in the room, "Barukh atah Adonai, Eloheinu, melekh ha'olam…"

Malfoy's voice had dropped into the deep, liquid tone that Harry had only heard him use for Brythonic as he recited the blessing in English, "Blessed are you, Lord, our God, sovereign of the universe…"

"…asher kidishanu b'mitz'votav v'tzivanu…"

"…Who has sanctified us with His commandments and commanded us…"

"…l'had'lik neir shel Hanukkah. Amein."

"…To light the lights of Hanukkah. Amen."

"Barukh atah Adonai, Eloheinu, melekh ha'olam…"

"Blessed are you, Lord, our God, sovereign of the universe…"

"…she'asah nisim la'avoteinu bayamim haheim baziman hazeh. Amein."

"…Who performed miracles for our ancestors in those days at this time. Amen."

"Barukh atah Adonai, Eloheinu, melekh ha'olam…"

"Blessed are you, Lord, our God, sovereign of the universe…"

"…shehecheyanu v'kiyimanu v'higi'anu laz'man hazeh. Amein."

"…Who has kept us alive, sustained us, and enabled us to reach this season. Amen."

"Now, please carefully light the first candle", Parkinson looked around the room briefly while the assorted witches and wizards complied, "And return the shamash to the center."

Her short hair bounced slightly with her nod as the older student looked towards the windows into the lake where students who were finishing with their task had stepped back away from their menorah. Harry silently took in the variations. The third years had a pale oak with chartreuse candles that was eye catching even if he wasn't sure he completely trusted flames and wood being that close, and the fourth years had a silver menorah formed out of entwining snakes with glittering green candles, which looked similar to how Harry imagined the green and silver of their House ties would look if the colors were combined. The fifth years had a standard sized gold menorah with pale green candles, and the sixth years had a rather lovely silver tree with each arm of the menorah a slim branch for the pale blue candles that looked taller than the rest. Harry squinted for a moment before the familiar shape clicked as the tapers Aunt Petunia broke out for holiday dinners, but he was undoubtedly impressed despite himself by the seventh years' menorah when he turned his head to the far right. The tallest and largest silver menorah of the lot that looked like it was heavy enough to knock someone out and needed deep green pillar candles. He was quite sure the pillar wouldn't finish burning anytime soon, even if it was left to burn overnight. The visual disparity was rather like listening to everyone recite the blessings - discordant in pitch and volume across the students, but harmonious in the pacing of the words and intent.

A smattering of relieved laughter, small smiles, "Chag sameach", and other Hebrew words - "Chag urim sameach" - floated around the room, "Hanukkah sameach!"

"Hawk", the deep whisper startled Harry, who was busy watching the younger students divvy up a selection of what looked like Wizarding money - large gold galleons, medium sized silver sickles, and small bronze knuts. He turned slightly towards Malfoy and felt his face contort into a puzzled look more so than asked a question, and the blond hissed, "Tawch code word. Scatter. You're going to get roped into a game of -- "

"Mr. Harry Potter?", Harry turned to the pale first year who had lit the candles on the menorah and was currently standing in front of him with her hands folded politely in front of her gray plaid skirt. He could smell the child-like manipulation in the tilt of her head and the pale green eyes that reminded him vaguely of green tea, but it was too late. Parkinson was staring at him intently from her seat on the bottle green couch next to Anthony, who was watching his cousin handle some sort of wooden top. The younger students were clearly ready to start some sort of game, and Harry hadn't heeded Malfoy's warning in time. He drew on the measure of his House's trademark bravery and straightened his back confidently, or hopefully so to an onlooker, "I have no idea what the game is, but if you can put up with explaining it, I'll join."

A few minutes later, the Gryffindor was willing to bet real money that the game was rigged against him. They had all started with five of the galleons, sickles, and knuts, and the point of the game was to not run out of coins first. Harry had been assured it wasn't actual money but chocolate gelt with slightly different flavors or something relatively safe to play a betting game with. The unfortunate part of a betting game was that he didn't know any spells to ensure the younger and more experienced players weren't cheating, and it seemed quite unfair that they'd announced the rule that players could get a loan from each other instead of going out when they lost their last coin only when one of the younger students had done so. Anthony had been adamant it was a real rule, but Harry was sure it wasn't an accident that he kept getting Shin and had to put his coins in the pot. He was facing an empty purse as it were, and there was no way these chocolate fiends were giving him a loan. A few more turns, and Harry stared at the stupidly cheerful bright purple lettering of his least favourite and most experienced letter. Anthony's cousin tsked sympathetically, "Better luck next time?"

Harry glanced down at the knut sitting in his palm and slowly unwrapped the bronze tinfoil to reveal a small chocolate disc that looked light enough to be milk chocolate with a pale mint drizzle. He popped the disc into his mouth and chewed thoughtfully while the younger students either fell into shocked silence like Anthony's cousin or loudly protested like the first year with the dark curls because 'you're not supposed to eat the candy until the game's over' or something. He swallowed and crumpled the tinfoil into a small ball before flicking it into the nearby cardboard box the coins had originally come out of, but it probably wasn't a good time to comment that he liked the mint flavor of these coins. Harry tilted his head and smiled sweetly at a blustering second year, "I don't have any coins left, so you can't kick me out of the game. You'd have to give me a loan for me to resume playing, but then, it'd be the next player's turn and not really a punishment. Due to the odd number of the starting coins, this actually helps you guys out by eliminating the need to round when taking half of the pot, so really, I did you lot a favor this round. Better luck next time, though."

A shocked silence descended on the group of students. Emerald eyes turned to the loose collection of older students who had been watching or listening while talking and doing their homework. They looked equally shocked, but it was a milder - dare he think it, somewhat impressed - form of shock. He turned to meet each gaze, but no one challenged his action or line of thinking on some obscure rule, technicality, or loophole. The familiar gray gaze was glinting with amusement, and Harry beat down the weird bubble of satisfaction expanding in his chest futilely. Yeah, the Gryffindor had pulled a small, relatively meaningless move over a group of Slytherins, but honestly, it barely counted when they were kids. The bubble didn't care as Malfoy smirked to himself and turned back to his Transfiguration book. Finally, when green eyes reached the blue eyes of Parkinson, her mouth twitched into a smirk and she cackled loudly into the quietly waiting common room. Harry cocked an eyebrow, but she simply waved her hand while trying to catch her breath, "You would've fit right in, Potter."

Harry shrugged nonchalantly while standing and brushing out his jumper and trousers, "I almost was sorted into Slytherin."

Parkinson's cackle died instantly, and the rest of the students continued to stare at him quietly with a more subdued flavor of shock. Malfoy kept his eyes glued on the open pages of his text, but the way he seemed to pause and freeze meant he wasn't entirely unaffected by the news. A second smaller, more self-conscious shrug from Harry and his muttering reached everyone in the common room, "Figures that's the only thing that hasn't made it through the rumor mill."

"Speaking of rumors", Anthony's interjection from any further questions in this topic that was probably rather fascinating to the younger Slytherins from their looks of disappointment smoothly transitioned the main conversation to the safer topic of homework, "I hear you're being driven mad by your Herbology paper, Harry."

"Didn't hear the bit about no longer needing to pick a hypothetical that we had to be able to do come spring", Harry's right hand swung down automatically to reach into his bag, but he froze at the emptiness at his side. Well fuck, he'd gone off and left his bag next to the chair in the library. His first thought had been to pull out the rough sketch of what he was wanting the bonsai spell to look like with the list of attributes and reasoning because it was an admittedly not common way to brainstorm ideas compared to most of the other students he'd seen working on this Herbology paper. They could look at the charts and lists in books and their ideas were clicking into place, but he needed to see what he was thinking. It'd eventually help with figuring out how to cultivate the shape he wanted on the future plants themselves, but it was currently just selfish idea tinkering. Harry froze as the full impact of going off and leaving his bag unattended in the library for almost three quarters of an hour hit. He turned sharply on his heel and walked quickly out of the archway, barely registering the snick of stone disappearing to let him through or the puzzled call of Anthony, "Harry?"

Harry had gathered together all of his books, parchment, and notebooks with Muggle paper on the library table. He was fastidiously repacking his bag and in the midst of admitting he couldn't get _Advanced Stargazing_ to fit in the bag with the rest of his books when the whisper of paper flapped above his head. The raven haired student glanced up at the familiar script written along the wing in Subluceo virens ink and held out his hand patiently. The dragon, a simpler version compared to the normal one sent, touched down in his palm and unfolded itself to reveal Malfoy's note, _If you're going to insist on carrying a precious item around, you should look into object warding, which sets up a force field of sorts that can notify you if someone tries to interact with the object particularly if you're not around when it happens. A simple example is in Kepler's Geometric Sigils (ideal for a bookmark or inside a cover)._

Harry nodded to the parchment and set it aside on the table. It wasn't like the dragon could communicate any reply on his behalf, but he had practically given himself a heart attack by remembering how he'd just gone off and left the journal sitting in his unattended bag for almost an hour. There were worse things than Malfoy reading about the Ouroboros encounters and how much Harry knew about Dumbledore's quasi-suicide mission. If another student, especially a Hel, found out about the blood bond and Dark lessons, it could be a shitstorm the likes Hogwarts may not have experienced before, especially if a reporter got tipped off. Harry shook away those depressing scenarios and sorted the books he could return to the shelves from the ones he wanted to take out. He'd gotten his normal textbooks, notebooks, and parchment into his bag when a paper crane touched down on his Astronomy book. The writing didn't look familiar, but he read the unfolded crane and quickly surmised that it was Anthony's somehow neat looking scrawl, _You should ask Draco about how suiseki (stone arrangement) and ikebana (flower arrangement) can be layered into a bonsai spell. You can use more general associations with your bonsai style, tree choice, and container, so you can layer the specifics with these elements that don't have to remain permanent. He at least knows a book or two to point you in the direction of._

Harry set the parchment down on top of the Astronomy text and picked up Malfoy's note to go hunt down the sigil book. Several irritated Point Me prompts and walking a repeated stretch of the Stationery Charms section later, Harry had pried the surprisingly slim book out from between its thicker mates on the shelf that had been effectively hiding it from view. The black leather reminded the Gryffindor of Tom Riddle's diary for a split second, but when he peeked between the creamy old pages, they were filled with somewhat uneven dark gray typeface and delicate geometric patterns in an ink color he could only describe as 'tea stain'. He tucked Malfoy's note in the top of the introduction as a bookmark and walked back to his table to find a simple origami version of a dragon tumbling around on the table with a simplified origami bird. Harry recognized the bird from Ron's usage of Ad libera nuntium and reached out for it first, but it turned out to be another note from Anthony written quickly, _Ask him about layering stones and flowers. Ask him about his project this past summer as Potions apprentice - all this bonsai research, researching historical potions ingredient preserving bonsai spells, and then coming up with a hypothetical example. He basically has to do a little tweaking and this paper is already done. He even had to cultivate the bonsai spell and test it out, which Sprout will love to see his public notes on._ A blot of black ink looked like it might've been about to form another word, but the note ended in a smeared trail of ink instead.

Harry turned to the dragon, which was pacing the edge of the dark purple book with silver stars splashed across it. He held out his hand and it obediently unfolded into his palm, and the first thing that hit his bespectacled eyes was the small slanting caps lock Malfoy had somehow managed to maintain throughout the note. Not that Malfoy truly knew what caps lock meant, but the deep blue ink somehow looked funny when written in the angry cursive, _BLOODY FUCKER - I HAD NO IDEA THAT SEV WAS BASICALLY ASSIGNING THIS PROJECT OVER THE SUMMER. HAVE EITHER OF YOU EVER EXPERIENCED THE WRATH OF A POTIONS MASTER WHEN AN EXPENSIVE OR RARE INGREDIENT CAN'T BE USED BECAUSE A PRESERVATION CHARM FAILED? CERTAIN ASIAN INGREDIENTS REALLY ONLY KEEP STASIS WITH BONSAI SPELLS, SO THERE WAS NO WAY I COULD REFUSE TO WORK ON THE BONSAI SPELL._

Harry carefully arranged the bonsai argument notes in the order he'd read them on the table and walked his stack of books that could be reshelved back to the nearest self-shelving tray at the end of an aisle. It wasn't exactly safe to just head back to the Slytherin common room at the moment. Another glance to the bonsai sketch tucked into _The Magic of Trunk Orientation_ , and Harry pulled out a regular pencil to contrast his original glimmering blue notes on the accompanying notebook paper and settled the sketch fully in front of him where it was framed by the origami notes. Thanks to Anthony, he should think big with the bonsai correspondences, and both of the trees he'd picked out would be part of the basic supplies in the spring. He wrote alongside his abbreviated notes and added the abbreviated citation placeholders:

_Japanese white pine, as a conifer, symbolizes longevity in the face of harsh winter circumstances (Index), and this tree is particularly common in the formal upright and informal upright styles with their associations with persevering on a single course and maintenance and returning to a course, respectively (MoTO). In a truth spell, I think the historical spell's style of informal upright works best to return people in the vicinity to the truth instead of running the risk of formal upright losing strength in the face of white lies and partial truths. However, the drawback of an evergreen's longevity is the slow reaction to change and a loss of adaptability when the circumstances call for it. I think the addition of a deciduous tree would accomplish this magical boost, particularly the Japanese maple, which is associated with 'patience in change' as one of Japan's well-known autumn trees (Index). A style with movement and the potential for sharper curves would highlight the adaptability better than the symmetry of an upright, and due to the ability to guide the apex down and around back in alignment with the starting point in a nod to the informal upright's magical intent mechanism, I think the cascade is the best style option for the Japanese maple to showcase its adaptability while still maintaining the intention of truth._

A crumpled mess of parchment fell from above Harry's head, narrowly missing black strands sticking out, to his notebook paper and bounced once before twitching slightly. He prodded the vague ball shape with his pencil's eraser and took pity on the former wings trying to flap weakly by touching the parchment. It slowly uncrumpled to form the simple origami bird ideal for quick correspondence and unfolded the tired looking bird to show another mess on the inside. Anthony's black ink had gotten into a fight with Malfoy's deep blue ink, and they'd written across each other. It would be more interesting if Harry wasn't tangentially involved in the argument, but at least he was experiencing the written form of raised voices and not an actual verbal fight. He'd either snap into his own burning anger or retreat into the silent obedience of the little five year old who didn't want to make his aunt and uncle mad at him. Anthony's response looked an awful lot like, _YOUR RESEARCH ESP INTO LAYERING COULD BE USEFUL -- YOUR PRACTICAL KNOWLEDGE -- AT LEAST TELL HIM THE BOOKS, HE'S YOUR SP_ , with the last part of the word having a blot of blue ink obscuring it, but it didn't look crossed out like the Slytherin had been truly angry. Malfoy's cursive seemed to be, _LAYERING IS NOT HOW A BEGINNER SHOULD APPROACH BONSAI CORRESPONDENCE MAGIC -- I ONLY KNOW STASIS AND PRESERVATION SPELLS. WHAT PART OF THIS IS PRACTICAL FOR EVERYONE ELSE? -- DON'T YOU FUCKING TRY TO PULL THE SPOUSE CARD; ONLY ONE PERSON CAN EVEN CLAIM RIGHTS TO THAT_ , and this note also ended with the opposing ink in a particularly large blot that bled onto the bottom right corner like Anthony had partially spilled his ink bottle.

Harry rolled his eyes in the direction of the bonsai spell sketch and mentally underlined his note that the bonsai portion should be general. If this was how Anthony and Malfoy got along when otherwise civil acquaintances, dare the Gryffindor presume friendly, he was almost afraid to see how Malfoy's actual family got along. Fuck, it was going to be a bloodbath if someone got truly pissed. He rubbed at his green eyes and set the question of color associations aside for the moment while glancing down for another look at the messy, written fight. Could words brawl on paper? Was it bad that the ink blots made him think of Rorschach tests? Harry readjusted his glasses onto his nose and pulled out a square of his own parchment. He carefully withdrew his wand and tapped one of the corners while muttering, "Tendo", and drawing the wand in a quick straight movement to where he wanted the paper to stop stretching to. It wasn't a spell he liked to use often because of how uneven the result could be, but he needed to make sure he had enough room to write with his regular graphite pencil:

_Children, stop._

_Anthony Goldstein - I don't know if you're more upset that Malfoy didn't tell you about his previous research and work with bonsai spells than him not telling me, but I'm sure he could answer nicely phrased questions and talk about his preservation / stasis spell if there were less ink being thrown around. It may be surprising to hear, but Malfoy actually does like talking about Potions and academic stuff like a secret Raven. Less yelling, and I have no idea how that last origami bird "flew?" here it was so crumpled. Please tell me this isn't dictation I'm reading and you didn't actually yell that I'm Malfoy's spouse in the middle of Slytherin common room. What happened to discretion? The fucking point is that the whole school doesn't find out._

_Draco - What the fuck? Seriously, calm the fuck down. Are there pigs flying somewhere? I, a brash Gryffindor by association, am having to write to tell you to take a deep breath. My self-preservation instincts (yes, I do have them) refuse to be around this much arguing and anger and potential dueling. I didn't ask you specifically what you did over the summer and you didn't outright lie that you completed a different project; you actually didn't do anything wrong (in this instance). If there were less hostility and ink blots, it'd be interesting to hear how you completed the layering process because I think the historical spell I want to base my example on is using an element of the stone thing and understanding that better would make the outcome of altering that spell component more successful. I'm not sure this qualifies for a full on pull of the spouse card, but at least suggesting a book or two would be greatly appreciated._

_Bloody fucking hell. I have had to channel Hermione before dinner, and I do not like being the responsible person like this at such an early time of the day. I should still see him at Astronomy tonight, but I'm in the library if Malfoy gets twitchy. I forgot to grab The Dark Universe before coming back to the library, which was the point of even going to the common room tonight, so he better bring it to class._

_Go read some bloody entrails and throw some damned bones and think about your choices, Spouse._

About a half hour later, a small fully detailed dragon folded from a pale green square of parchment circled over _Seeing the Trees for the Forest_ and the diagram splayed over the open page. Harry glanced up and held his left hand over the explanation for preventing roots from entangling (a practical concern in multi-tree arrangements) and keeping inconsistent magical properties from bleeding into each other. The dragon landed but didn't unfold at his touch, and he stared at it with a slightly puzzled look on his face as the soft, almost ticklish paper curled up in his palm for a nap. Harry shrugged and brought his hand closer to his chest in order to continue reading about the disastrous side effects of magical properties bleeding through tangled roots, which could trigger a strengthening of the contrasting qualities in the other trees, or worst case scenario, lead to a spectacular fuck up (depending on the trees and their magical qualities, a magical black hole of sorts could form that would devour "small" nearby magical cores). He could see why the traditional bonsai styles featuring multiple trees or trunks would keep to one species because unleashing a small magical bomb did sound a bit dangerous, especially since humans weren't exactly ruled out as too big to be affected. Harry made a note to look for more detailed instructions on preventing root tangling in the cultivation books and felt a corner of folded paper nuzzling into the meat of his thumb.

The dragon must have had a Tempus Mora cast on it because it stretched lazily and slowly unfolded as Harry watched the minute hand tick into place for the start of dinner on his watch. He shifted his hold on the parchment and stared down at the expected neat cursive in what looked to be a deep green ink. It screamed Slytherin to his red-attuned sensibilities, but it also did look rather striking and Harry refused to admit the soft spot he had for the deeper shades of green to this particular Slytherin. The note was compact and the entire square filled:

_Anthony and I did not have a verbal argument in the middle of the common room. It was more of a childish tussle over paper and ink at one of the tables in a corner, which regrettably bore the brunt of our irritation and annoyance with each other and did appear more angry and argumentative than we were. The last note suffered from an attempt to keep Anthony's teasing use of the spousal card from leaving Slytherin, and it obviously failed. While I am willing to hear ideas about layering optional (more complex) components into bonsai magic, a lot of the basics can be found in the East Asian Herbology section._

_The Hidden Sorcery of Suiseki looks at the subtle magical flavors of the shape, color, surface pattern, and other classifications of the stones. The first part covers just viewing the rocks, but the second part pairs suiseki and bonsai arrangements. The Pros and Cons of Ikebana in Bonsai Magic will definitely make up your mind to incorporate this layer of its own complicated magic or will dissuade a line of thought that will take months of study to honestly be prepared for. You either want to find a close historical style match to your spell or justify customization. There are primers for the big styles - Rikka, Seika / Shoka, Nageirebana / Nageire, Moribana, and Jiyuka - which can be split into further styles (Nageire slanted style is different from Moribana slanted style) and hundreds of schools of thought. Unless you're dealing with a historical spell that already involves ikebana, I would suggest only mixing bonsai and suiseki at this stage._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **_Mors vincit omnia:_** Death conquers all.
> 
> While different headcanons about Jewish witches and wizards attending Hebrew schools and yeshiva universities instead of Hogwarts could explain the absence of Harry noticing Jewish inclusion at Hogwarts [barring author issues], I kinda fell into like with Jewish!Pansy and Pansy / Anthony from other fics, so I wanted to include something for Hanukkah and get into inter-House friendships and relationships. Also, I had a surprisingly vivid idea of gelt based on Wizarding money, and I wanted to include that somewhere.  
> [How to Play Dreidel](https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/how-to-play-dreidel/):
> 
>  
> 
>  
> 
> Blood magic & Jewish wixen - I don’t want to downplay how the myth of blood libel has negatively impacted Jewish communities, but after writing myself into some Jewish wixen belonging to the Dark community, I comprised by having blood magic in this au be optional for the most part with the different movements having their own points of view, appropriate workarounds, and intra-community stances on specific situations when it’s allowed. I have a scene in a later part where Anthony and Pansy decline contributing to blood wards around Hogwarts because it does not meet their movement’s rules for exceptions, and I have a substitute system that allows for someone else to technically donate their blood when it’s appropriate (in the case of blood wards around Hogwarts, Draco donates on their behalf because these wards don’t require person / lineage specific blood).


	20. Owls (M)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> No updates to characters, ships, or tags.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Artistic License being activated for pet / familiar lifespan lengthening when exposed to magic (or y'know, something like that).

A pale tawny face with orange eyes and a flurry of browns across the chest and wings accosted Harry as soon as he stepped over the threshold into the Great Hall. He automatically took a step back from the owl when it appeared to swoop directly at his head, but it veered and settled into an impatient holding pattern instead with a surprisingly gentle flap of its wings. Harry readjusted his hold on the strap of his bag and continued with his original plan of walking to the Gryffindor table and finding a seat for breakfast. He set his bag on the bench, which was the owl's signal that he was ready to receive its cargo because it landed on the table with a ruffle of brown banded feathers. Harry squinted at the dark brown, almost black ear tufts, but he didn't recognize the long-eared owl or know who had sent the letter attached to its white feathered leg. He laid his robes across the top of his bag and untied the letter, and barely stopped himself from flinching at the strong gust of wind from the owl's downbeat and ascent. Well, the sender hopefully wasn't planning on a reply with that owl. Harry dropped his pale gray jumper on top of his robes and slid into place on the bench, a little wary of opening the unmarked envelope he'd set on the table in front of him.

Harry stared blankly at the small black kettle sitting on its 'not a hot plate' that looked like the hot plate sitting on Aunt Petunia's kitchen counter without manual controls. Ron had tried to explain what it was and how the house elves controlled the temperature and water supply from down in the kitchens, but Harry hadn't really paid attention to the explanation. He also hadn't intended on crawling out of his warm four poster bed in time for the early breakfast block this morning, but there was no point in staring at the canopy and hoping he could fall back asleep this close to classes starting after a nightmare. Well, presumably a nightmare. Something had been chasing after him in a long stone corridor, but he never saw what it was or seemed to make any progress in relation to the sconces on the walls. Despite the feeling of his muscles burning and hearing his ragged breath while running, the corridor seemed to be endless. Harry shifted his gaze to the basket of tea bags and jars of loose leaf tea. The snitch infusers were quirky, but he'd never felt adventurous or properly awake enough to try to figure out how much loose leaf would make a good cup of tea when a bag worked just as well. Or, flat green eyes flickered over to his left and the array of coffee brewing supplies, he could go for the quick option for waking up and deal with the jittery feeling later. Harry sighed and poured a goblet of pumpkin juice because it was the closest drink and didn't require thought. Maybe he'd wake up enough to make choices in a few minutes.

Harry turned his attention to the creamy parchment envelope on the table. The only thing he could tell was that it wasn't a Howler, and thank God for small miracles, because this teen was too tired to deal with someone projecting their yelling at him through a letter. He slowly opened the envelope and pulled out a small note with the crisp lettering from a dictation quill in clean black lines:

> _Recipient: Harry J. Potter. Body: This coming Saturday, the 14th, is the date selected for your Snake Bone Rite. Please recan in the shower on the morning of and wear whatever is most comfortable for the ceremony (no dress requirements). Go to the Room of Requirement immediately following lunch and be prepared to remain inside for a few hours at most. The Malfoys and I will be present to create the ritual space for you to meet the Time-Keeper, who is the one who will lead and dictate the initiation. You may keep your wand on you during the rite, but you will not be expected to do anything other than speak with the Time-Keeper for the duration of the ritual. Efallai y bydd y cysgodion cuddio chi. -- Severus_

Five days. Harry pushed the flap of his bag out of his way and pulled out a square piece of parchment, his journal, and his viola pencil. Ideally, he should go through the effort of finding at least a non-glimmering pen to reply with, but the Gryffindor had zero fucks to give at this time of morning. He wrote as neatly as he could on the parchment, _Message received and understood_ , and folded it into a crane to send off. Maybe it was more polite to send a letter, even if it was short, but he wasn't going to waste parchment and a trip for Hedwig when Snape was in the same castle he was in. Sending a paper crane was more effort than he really should put into a reply because Harry certainly knew where Snape's office was in the dungeons or could say something after Defense tomorrow. The middle three days of the week had a single block of Defense Against the Dark Arts right before lunch, so really, Snape was lucky he was replying so soon when he could wait until Thursday. Harry opened the journal to the empty page marked by the sigil bookmark against prying eyes and stuck the note on the top half of paper with a Sticking Charm. He made a note that it was received on Monday, the 9th, and stared down at the bottom half of the page while slowly running his left hand through his messy black hair and twirling the Astronomy pencil with the other. The toast and Marmite were looking more appealing now that he'd woken up a little more, and they'd be a good distraction from the sheer lack of response he felt. Except the selection of bagels and cream cheese were just as appealing.

Harry had laid the two halves of the blueberry bagel on a small plate and was busy watching the surface turn a golden color under his careful Torreo - Muggle toasters were easier to use in his opinion - when a second owl appeared. If appeared meant the mottled gray body and wings of an upside down owl was suddenly in front of Harry and his breakfast after the Great Gray owl had misjudged where the basket of tea bags was, that is. Harry tucked his wand back into his pocket and rolled his sleeves up to his elbows before picking up the knife and butter. A familiar gray and white face turned towards him and he nodded in greeting at Errol, the slightly clumsy owl of the Weasleys. Harry had never plucked up the courage to ask Arthur if Errol was so bad at landings because of some sort of spell effect, but he had his moments where he wondered and watching the large bird ungracefully right itself in a mess of wing beating was one. He reached out a hand to smooth down some ruffled feathers, and Errol seemed to hoot appreciatively while holding out his leg. Harry untied the letter and pushed his goblet of pumpkin juice forward in offering. Errol dipped his head down for a brief moment but quickly turned away and rose from the table with more grace than his landing suggested he had.

A thin layer of cream cheese was softening into the melted butter and warm bagel before Harry opened the envelope with Molly's familiar writing on the outside. It wasn't a Howler so he was fairly confident he could handle opening and reading it in public. He slowly took a bite of his bagel, eyes narrowing at the opening line, and sighed before resolving to stick with small bites to lessen the chances of choking. Molly didn't always need a Howler to show displeasure:

> _I would ask if you've been alright, but apparently, you've gone and blood bound yourself to another student. Ron informed Arthur and I while mentioning that you'd need some accommodations for the Proximus, and I must say we were shocked. Of course, you didn't know the dangers of open wound contact during a fight, but we thought you would've written to tell us sooner. Hallowe'en was over a month ago, and we do have some experience with a blood bond, Arthur and I. Ron was a bit vague on when you'd need to see your bond-mate and for how long, but you're certainly welcome to use our floo as often as you need to._
> 
> _Rest assured that we're having a good talking to with Ron when he gets home this weekend, Harry. I can't imagine what it would be like to suddenly have to navigate an unwanted and unplanned blood bond, let alone with young Mr. Malfoy, and it can't have been any easier with Ron being so lackadaisical. As the Pureblood in your immediate friend group, we expected him to know about the Celtic Knot and how to verify a bond at the very least. Please let us know if you have any questions he hasn't answered, dear. We'll always be here for you._

Harry laid Molly's letter on the page opposite to where he'd stuck Snape's note and straightened his spine slowly, rolling his shoulders and feeling a muscle in his lower back tighten. He pulled out a spare notebook long enough to tear out a page and paused with the viola pencil above the first blue line on the paper. Harry took a sip of his pumpkin juice and tried to marshal his thoughts into something resembling order. Ron had clearly not paid attention to the Dark lessons being brought up way back at the start of November, and this wasn't exactly the best way to break that kind of news. That certainly complicated explaining the blood bond and why Harry had been so busy he hadn't written to her, and it definitely meant he should avoid calling the winter solstice Alban Arthan. A bleary eyed seventh year stopped on the opposite side of the table to straighten out the mess Errol had made of the basket of tea bags before continuing on down the table with three tea bags in her hand. He finally worked out a response, thankful for the glimmering spell not interfering with the ability to erase the graphite:

_Between Ron's new relationship (ask him about Lavender) and him thinking this blood bond was an elaborate joke, I really only just got him to come around to believing it's real. If I couldn't get someone to believe me in person, I didn't want to go through the trouble of convincing someone via letter. No offense, but you and Arthur would be within rights to think it was a prank since it's Malfoy we're talking about. Dumbledore doesn't want us immediately leaving Hogwarts for break this weekend in case the Proximus reacts badly. We're meeting up twice in Hogsmeade (17 & 19) before I leave Hogwarts for the Burrow next Thursday (19). I'm stopping by the manor for a winter solstice party (21) and a brief Christmas gathering before we meet up somewhere in London on the 29th. It'd probably be easier to wait and ask questions over break, but thanks. If there wasn't a ring on my finger that I can't take off, I wouldn't believe this was happening._

A slow and steady pulling of the perforation so the paper's edge was clean, and the letter was as done as Harry could make it. He carefully folded it into thirds and stuck it into the back of his journal where it would be safe until he could dig up an envelope in his room after Herbology. Harry tucked his bookmark into place and closed his journal just slowly enough that the letter from Molly and his response couldn't fall out from between the pages before sliding the notebook into his bag. The Astronomy pencil wound up tucked behind an ear, and he toasted and prepared another blueberry bagel, slightly pleased at how productive he felt to respond to two letters before the later breakfast block had even started. He thought Hedwig would like to make the flight to the Burrow and the decision seemed to center him. Maybe he still had nightmares and felt like he didn't control how much he slept sometimes, and maybe the whole blood bond and Dark initiation kerfuffle stripped away what time and agency remained from having to fight against Voldemort as The Chosen One, but Harry could still make some decisions, thank you very much. He was going to go down to the Owlery, visit a bit with Hedwig, and then she'd go off to the Burrow until Molly wrote back.

A third owl disturbed Harry's thoughts that his Monday morning might start off on a good note, and he stared at it silently for a moment or two. The long dark ear tufts and orange eyes reminded him of Snape's owl, but the gray face and much larger stature ruled that out. The dark brown feathers were mottled with black and white, and the owl obediently held out its white feathered leg for Harry to remove the letter. He stared down at the black ink in an unfamiliar neat cursive on the envelope and glanced back up to the bird, which did look familiar somehow. Harry tilted his head and watched the owl stretch its wings out to a 6 foot wingspan with a polite swivel of its head to check and make sure it wasn't knocking into anything. Feathers ruffled back into place and the eagle owl - because what else was that large - tilted its head forward to drink from Harry's goblet of pumpkin juice. He stared at the dark moss green seal on the back of the envelope for a second before opening it and pulling out the card. A decorative border of holly framed a close up of a wren sitting on a snowy branch. It wasn't exactly as festive as the cards Aunt Petunia kept for the Christmas season, but it was aesthetically pleasing enough. Harry flipped the card open to read on the inside:

> Celyn ac dryw. I have provided the Headmaster with the list of books on the right from the Black library that should provide answers to questions you have about blood bonds and traditional betrothal. If he has any issues with removing the books (on philosophical grounds or due to defensive charms in Grimmauld Place), you will be able to find all of these texts in my portion of the library in the manor and may consult them over winter break.

Green eyes drifted over to the bullet point list: _Toujours pur même parmi les ombres (Always pure even among shadows): An Introduction to the House of Black_ compiled by Hesper Black, _Ethel & Gyfu: Your Traditional Twilight & Wedding Ceremony_ by Gríma Hallkelsdóttir, _By Blood & Bone: Blood Magic and Rituals for the Family & Home_ by Epinette Blackthorn. Harry was intrigued by the mentioning of futhorc but pushed the niggling curiosity to the back of his mind. Narcissa had clearly written that he could look at the book over winter break if Dumbledore couldn't remove it from Grimmauld Place, and the fact that Ouroboros had included both of those runes in a prior meeting didn't have to mean anything in particular. He went back to reading the left inside of the card after taking a sip of his pumpkin juice:

> Please let me know about any dietary allergies as soon as you can, so meal preparation for the winter solstice party can be done with that separation in mind. We shall already be accommodating our relatives who follow kashrut and halal, but we can add any other customs, traditions, or preferences you may follow (vegetarian, vegan, etc.). Containers and dishes that involve alcohol will be clearly marked, and non-alcoholic drinks will be available. As a guest, you are not required to bring a dish to the party, but please let me know if you plan on doing so.
> 
> With regards, Narcissa Malfoy
> 
> P.S. Tewyn is getting up there in age (42 this past September), so please refrain from spoiling him with human food. Tell him he has a perfectly good vole waiting at home.

"Er", Harry looked into the large orange eyes of Tewyn, who looked remarkably well for being 42, and closed the card. It was a bit paranoid to think the eagle owl would know Narcissa had reprimanded him for consuming human food, but the Gryffindor wasn't putting anything past this elderly bird. Tewyn's black beak slowly shifted through feathers as he preened one of his large wings. Harry cleared his throat as quietly as he could and addressed the owl, hoping he wasn't acting as crazy as he feared, "You have a perfectly good vole waiting at home."

Tewyn paused his preening and turned his head to blink at Harry for a second or two. He looked disappointed enough that Harry was almost ready for human speech to come out of the beak, but the eagle owl settled for lowering his head to the pumpkin juice for another quick drink and only looking in the direction of the sausages. Finally, after a careful turn with wings half-stretched and finding an empty enough hole in the platters and jugs of the breakfast table, the impressive wingspan lifted the large eagle owl into the air and Tewyn quietly glided back towards the door of the Great Hall. And that was how the owl looked familiar, Harry realized, Malfoy was one of the few students who received familial post with such a large owl. Eagle owls were common in certain post offices and business deliveries for carrying the larger and heavier packages, but most families seemed to tend towards medium sized owls to handle the average post. Dean had had to explain the advantages of keeping multiple owls for different types of post sometime in their third year when it seemed like Little owls were taking over the Great Hall following the first sighting of Sirius near Hogwarts. While rubbish at carrying most packages because they were too heavy, a Little owl was incredibly fast and perfect for letters.

Harry debated using parchment or Muggle notebook paper to write a reply to Narcissa Malfoy. On the one hand, she was probably expecting a formal response in ink or at least expected an appropriately Wizarding method. On the other hand, the teen was reluctant to part with parchment not already sized down to note sized when he needed to save his current scrolls and loose sheaves for short essays or other homework. Despite stopping by Scrivenshaft's for a starling quill and old timey looking fountain pen this past weekend, Harry hadn't realized he was running so low on parchment. He would have to wait until the winter break started to restock, so after tousling a stuck up portion of black hair into a differently shaped tuft, Harry summoned up his House's courage and tore out a second page from his spare Muggle notebook, making sure to leave a perfectly clean edge along the perforation. His hand reached up for the viola pencil, and he wrote out, in his opinion, a decently polite reply:

_Thank you for the book list. I don't know how soon I'll know if Dumbledore can't remove the books, but I'll try to look at them over the break either way. I'm not aware of any food allergies, but I must admit I don't have much experience with foreign cuisine and an unknown allergy could exist. I don't have any dietary accommodations, and I'm not planning on bringing a dish (I assumed a more formal set up and don't see myself having the time or space to throw something together last minute). -- Harry_

Two careful and even folds, and Harry had his second letter waiting for him to find an envelope after Herbology. He amended his plan for the Owlery and decided that his snowy owl would make the best impression with the new addressee, even if Hedwig wasn't going to get the chance to stay for a few days. It seemed a bit trivial, but she did make more of an impression than he did, and Harry needed to counteract the notebook paper and Astronomy pencil somewhat. He tucked the pencil and letter into his bag, the letter sliding into the front cover of his Charms textbook where it couldn't get crumpled, and decided it'd be a good idea to visit Hedwig first. She didn't always like it when he used one of the school owls, and the Little owl Harry could send to Molly wasn't going to tell her that her letter was technically sent off after Narcissa's. He also hoped no one else had been feeling chatty lately. The Great Hall had slowly started to fill up over the course of reading and responding to Narcissa's card, and it was now the later block of breakfast. If Harry was going to have a cup of tea or anything more substantial than bagels, he'd need to make a decision soon. He tucked the wren and holly decorated card into his bag as well and pulled the basket of tea bags and a cup closer to him, wondering if it was perhaps customary to send Alban Arthan cards like sending Christmas cards. That'd explain the strange greeting and unexpected cover.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fan details: The Eagle owl owned by the Malfoys is named Tewyn ("ember" in Welsh), and he's the owl reserved for familial correspondence (other species handle other post). Snape has a Long-eared owl (they look similar to eagle owls) named Marworyn (another Welsh word for "ember").


	21. Pearl Dust (W)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Added To Tags: Potions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wanted to try to get the 22 chapters I had written before I started posting up by the end of January, so that meant I had to pick somewhere to slid in extra chapters per week (as you've no doubt figured out). This week's excuse: Today is my birthday. I don't want to clutter up my notes with the entire background on my life (25 years is a long time when you're living it), and I tend to save mental health stuff for my tumblr, but I am glad that I've made it this far and have been able to share this story with you guys.
> 
> Fun fact, this is the chapter where I listened to "Here There Be Witches" (found on the Spotify playlist) the most because it clicks with writing magical history for me. It and "The Willow Maid" have a very Tawch feel, but analysis of the playlist would take up too much space.

The library had reached its post dinner lull, and the soft sounds of other students working weren't there to keep Harry motivated. Perhaps one or two robes rustled, someone cleared their throat, and the scritch scratch of quills on parchment was more subdued. It was the hardest part of trying to work in the library, when it was this quiet and easy to get distracted. The thin cushion on the chair had been worn down enough over the years that he could feel the hardness of the wood - there was a palm sized knot in the grain of the deep red mahogany table - the faded olive jacket of the book he was consulting smelled like someone spilled coffee on it in the recent past. Harry set down his regular graphite pencil and looked back over the first draft taking up the two open pages of his notebook, purple for Potions. This was less of an argumentative, prove a point essay and more of a prove you can research history essay, so his outline on a separate page that had been torn out of the notebook had much less color coding, circles, connecting lines, and arrows than usual. Just black ink from a pen.

> Reason for suffering: Historical attitudes to love potions and how it has affected their legality. Part I: Prehistoric Britain and the Roman Invasion. (Ravenclaws have most of the books for this section right now.) Part II: Early Medieval Period and Anglo-Saxons. (Something about complicated rules of social interaction because the winters are too long to leave arseholes out in the snow to die; come back.) Part III: Norman Conquest and the Catholic Church. Part IV: Late Medieval Period and Anti-witchcraft. (Using love potions in espionage understandably makes people nervous and antis. Damn Plantagenet era.) Part V: Witch Trials in Tudor England. (What the fuck - "professional love potion specialists" for the court and no time limits on a potion's effects?)
> 
> The outline cut off from neatly assigning a part to the rest of the chunks of Britain's history in a jumble of notes: Victorian wave of anti-Muggle more than anti-love (Muggle photography and specifying target)? Edwardian - Witch's Liberation of Hearth Sciences movement (fight anti-witch rules preventing witches from 'witch trial' branches of magic, which prominently included Potionology because of love potions). Why are WWI and WWII considered Muggle wars (look in History of Magic section? Wizarding world had to be affected somehow)? Witch waves of feminism & flavors of anti-love (vs PRO love in 1960s in third wave of neopagan revival). Probably shouldn't mention Merope Gaunt and the rise of LV.

Tan fingers brushed the collection of pages with quotes, notations, and full citations slightly away from the notebook with the current partial draft, and one hand ran up through his hair without him noticing. If he knew where to look, Harry could bet that someone had honestly compiled a book about all of this. Surely, a previous student who had lost unknown hours of their life compiling notes about this very topic had taken mercy on future generations by publishing their essay so the professor would have to pick a different topic. Personally, Harry didn't really want to be known for publishing something about the changing social attitudes towards love potions and their legality in Britain's history, but someone could take one for the team. He glanced back over his draft and ignored the niggling voice in the back of his head that sounded an awful lot like Hermione that was wondering if it would be easier to insert full citations later if he bothered to slow down and insert abbreviations in the drafts. Harry usually waited until he had all of the sections of a first draft and added the abbreviated citations while smoothing the pieces into one complete first draft. Historical papers were so citation heavy, though.

_Following the Witch-Bull of 1484, a papal bull from Pope Innocent VIII, love potions started to become more associated with the witch's domain and dependent on her garden rather than being equally viewed as a form of wizardry. Four out of every five accused 'witches' were women with the continuing adjustments to the definition of witchcraft aligning the witch dominated fields of hearth sciences and hearth potions with the supposed evidence of witchcraft. The minority of wizards accused were often dabbling in the hearth sciences surrounding weather magic at the time they were caught and convicted (Muggle court records vary on calling men witches, and avoiding the association strengthened the deference to masculine terminology in the Wizarding world such as using wizardry and sorcery instead of witchcraft)._

_This anti-witch attitude and the growth of the European witch trials into the 1500s led to the temporary and inefficient crackdown on non-commercially growing several common plants used in love potions such as peppermint, red roses, and periwinkle in the 1520s (see the failed substitution of periwinkle in The Boke of Secrets of Albertus Magnus in his earthworm and leek based potion). Despite love potions being cited as evidence in many of the witch trials of the 1400s, efforts to prevent amateur potion brewers from brewing love potions were largely unsuccessful until the 1590 - 1592 North Berwick witch trials and the involvement of King James VI of Scotland. Late medieval love potions were highly reliant on culinary herbs that common Muggles and witches could afford to grow themselves, but the anti-love potion sentiment was fueled by safety concerns and successfully led to the Pearl Dust Tax of 1597, which was one component of the larger piece of legislation called the Witchcraft Concealment Act of 1597._

_Pearl dust became a mandatory ingredient in love potions to avoid the tax, and due to the exorbitant cost of pearl dust to the common witch and Muggle, legitimate love potions spiraled into a largely academic and theoretical study until the (Muggle) Witchcraft Act of 1735. Muggle criminal courts no longer had the legal justification to pursue accusations of witchcraft, so a love potion revival occurred among potion brewers and academics with the necessary pearl dust putting a time limit to the effects of the love potions, effectively ending the largest complaint against love potion usage at the time. This introduced common witches to the love potions the Wizarding elite had been experimenting with in the intervening century and revived the legal commercial love potion market._

_Officially, the Pearl Dust Tax is still an active regulation as of 1996 and all commercial love potions brewed since the 1770s have included pearl dust as an ingredient. Archeo-brewing has rediscovered several potions that do not include pearl dust from medieval manuscripts, family grimoires, and archived potions texts, but the commercial market has refused to consider offering these potions out of concerns of reviving the anti-love potion sentiment. The romanticizing of love potions during the Georgian era (1714 - 1837) by Romantic artists successfully dwindled the minority of anti-love potion sentiment at the start of using pearl dust, and the popular culture's return to supporting and imbibing love potions has continued to this day._

Green eyes unfocused slightly on the last line, and Harry had to fight back a yawn. On its own, the statement that popular culture had returned to a pro-love potion stance and had continued to this day sounded weak, but there were going to be several more parts to this draft. He sighed and rubbed at his eyes. History drained away the fascination and awe of learning about magic, and it didn't matter what Hermione said about providing context. Harry flipped the green notebook - Charms - next to his outline open and paused in his half-hearted quest to switch over to his equally mind numbing homework about a magical theorem of whatsit. Narcissa's card had worked its way into the position of bookmark since Monday, and he carefully untucked it from the notebook to set on top of his Potions draft. Aunt Petunia had often gone for scenic cards like this when sending out her Christmas cards, so there was something vaguely comforting about the familiarity of seeing a snow covered branch with a bird and a decorative holly border. The main difference was the type of bird and a noticeable lack of glitter in the sections of snow.

Harry had more than enough experience with confetti in the Wizarding world, but he hadn't really seen a lot of glitter on their cardstock. Perhaps witches viewed it as just annoying as Muggles? Although, maybe they didn't need glitter. Harry slowly shifted through his spare parchment for the half piece left over from this morning's hurried search for a surface to write the Transfiguration formulas down on and laid it next to the card across his notebook. A moment later and the small travel sized notebook with Subluceo color swatches and notes was sitting next it. He reassured himself that he was just testing out a valid spell work question for a brief moment, and this was not him giving into procrastination. Harry held his normally regular graphite pencil in his left hand and gently crooked his right fingers over his wand as if it were a pencil while flipping through the small pages. The front had pages of colored squares and the exact spell addition to get it roughly split into sections, reds then oranges and on through the rainbow followed by the white-gray-black section. A small miscellaneous section finished out the sections with colors that were swirled combinations that he'd stumbled upon by accidentally mangling an attempt at creating a color gradient. If you weren't absolutely perfect in your pronunciation or combined the phrases incorrectly, color combination additions to Subluceo failed more often than they succeeded. Harry stared at the list in the back of his notebook of colors he'd copied down from a dusty Latin primer and decided to give one of the slightly off-white variations a try.

"Subluceo argillaceous", Harry spoke softly and pointed his wand confidently at the pencil sitting on his left palm. The white graphite wasn't as bright as he expected since this color was apparently 'white clay', but the glimmer did give it a glittery shine. He set his wand down and flipped to the page with his current attempts at white additions. A few seconds later and the square was filled in with a shade that did look remarkably suitable for snow against the pale brown in the parchment. Harry ended the glimmer spell and jotted down the note with the Latin word, intended color, and the opinion that it might work for snow. He sent a sidelong glance to the empty parchment next to the card and then his pencil that had been returned to its normal graphite for notation. It would just be quick, and he was just going to see if he could match another color from the card. While the wren still wasn't as eye catching as Harry had expected from a bird on a holiday card, it was the first time he'd been presented with a way to test out some of the reds, browns, and their blends. Astronomy charts didn't exactly have a high demand for the 'pure dull brown' of brunneus he thought would work for the darker browns in the wings, chest, and branch. Harry had lost track of how long he'd been fiddling with the shades of the glimmering pencils spread out around him when the chair across from him creaked.

"You'd think with the Helion fascination with dheusomology", Malfoy was too busy stretching his back and rolling his shoulders to notice that Harry was trying to cover up his partially started sketch, currently just blocking out the rough placement of the branch, bird, and border in the glimmering pale gray he thought would work for the wren called griseus or pearl gray. The Slytherin rolled his neck and continued what sounded like a small rant that had been building in a rather quiet voice considering the irritation bleeding through, "That's the study of crossbreed species, by the way, which Hels dominate the field of, even though they're mostly disgusted by the fact that we exist. Even though they love this 'highly theoretical' field, there isn't one book in this library about the dangers crossbreeds face with human transfiguration."

"Oh", Harry nodded and hoped he didn't look too confused. He had the distinct feeling that Malfoy was talking like they'd been having some sort of conversation so he should know why the topic was being discussed. Malfoy tugged at and readjusted the knot of his tie, which was something that looked horribly complicated and unrecognizable to Harry, while nodding and continuing, "I mean, McGonagall offered the topic of human transfiguration", Harry nodded again as the piece he'd been missing clicked into place, "So, you'd think that'd mean we'd have access to all of the possible information on human transfiguration. An essay without mentioning crossbreeds, even just a few notes, would just be incomplete and not follow her suggestion to be as thorough as possible. Obviously, all of the species specific dangers couldn't be discussed because dheusomology is a university level topic, but there are broad warnings that all crossbreeds face -- "

Malfoy had paused to collect his thoughts, and Harry jumped on the chance to change the topic while the other student's jaw was working, probably grinding his teeth. While he could see why this lack of information could be upsetting to a crossbreed, who surely wanted a mention of the danger he could personally face as an acknowledgment of his existence, Harry did not want to go down the road of Malfoy facing transfiguration dangers. Malfoy hadn't brought up his few moments of punishment as a ferret yet, but letting Malfoy truly wind up to go off about possible dangers would undoubtedly get to that. Harry coughed as quietly as he could and held up the card from Narcissa. Malfoy's eyebrows drew together slightly in confusion as he had to interrupt his own train of thought to process the sight of the wren on its snowy branch surrounded by holly, but then he shrugged slightly, face neutral, "It's an Alban Arthan card. Rather similar to Christmas or Yule cards."

"Most people send Christmas cards with robins on them", Harry paused while setting the card down, "Well, my Muggle family does. The red chested robin catches your eye more than the primarily brown wren does", Malfoy made a small noise as if he were about to make a comment, but the stubborn Gryffindor kept going, "Not to mention, most people don't write 'Celyn ac dryw' in their Christmas cards."

"I didn't think she would", Malfoy whispered and didn't elaborate while looking down at the card, tilting his head slightly in a thoughtful manner. Harry waited for a few more seconds, but the blond had gotten preoccupied with some train of thought and was lightly resting his chin in one palm, fingers splayed across his right cheek. A clearing of Harry's throat drew the pale silver eyes back to his face away from the card, "So, what does it mean - Celyn ac dryw?"

"Holly and wren", Malfoy motioned to the card with his left hand briefly before settling it across the edge of the table perpendicular to his right arm, "It's how we greet each other at Alban Arthan like 'Merry Christmas' or 'Happy Yule'."

Harry thought back to what Ron had said about the holiday and tried to reconcile a greeting based around a seasonal plant and bird with human sacrifice. Sending holiday cards didn't seem to fit with his image of killing people off either, come to think of it. He chewed his bottom lip for a moment before leaning forward and casting a quick Muffliato Charm around the table to keep anyone from overhearing their conversation in the quiet of the library. He still dropped his volume when he spoke, "I sort of overheard a Hel describing Alban Arthan the other day, but I'm not really sure the description was accurate", Harry paused and Malfoy motioned with his right hand to continue, "I heard that Alban Arthan is an old, pre-Christian festival and someone had to be sacrificed for the sun to be reborn on the solstice. Dark wizards supposedly made enemies disappear right before the festival, and there's a threat around this time of year to be good or the Dark wizards will steal you away on Alban Arthan and you won't get anything for Christmas. Because you'll be the sacrifice or something."

"I'm aware of what Pureblood Helion families say about us", Malfoy had dropped his right hand down across his left and looked like he was bored. Harry wondered if it was common for Gwyllon to hear rumors like this while growing up because it might explain why Malfoy seemed hesitant to talk about what seemed like safe topics to him. Harry looked down at the sketch of the card's cover and fiddled with the griseus pencil lying on the piece of parchment before picking it up to add refining details to the branch - the legs and feet of the bird, the collection of snow that started the whole endeavor, the split in the branch at the tip. Quietly, Malfoy began to speak after coming to some sort of decision, and he seemed to prefer to stare at the sketch as Harry continued to refine blocking, "Oak and Holly are the remnants of at least one of the Ancients whose job is pushing the seasons forward with the seasonal magic of the Ancients. They fight on each solstice and the winner rules until the fight at the next solstice. Holly is the dying sun and the old year, while Oak is the new year and growing sun. Oak wins in the winter, and Holly wins in the summer."

"But you use holly in the greeting for the winter solstice?", Harry addressed the parchment before him instead of looking up at Malfoy. He had switched to filling in the relatively easy border of red and green holly with a 'pure red' phoeniceous pencil and an orobitinus pencil that was supposedly vetch-green, a bit toned down from grass green without being pale or too yellow and neon looking. Malfoy continued to speak quietly, "Our farewell at the end of Alban Hefin, the summer solstice, is 'Celyn ac dryw' because Holly has just won the fight. Holly still reigns until the evening of the winter solstice, so we greet each other with 'holly and wren'. Our farewell at the end of Alban Arthan is 'Derw ac robin Goch' or 'oak and robin' because Oak has just won, and we use that as our greeting on Alban Hefin. Cyclical and interconnected."

Harry set the orobitinus and phoeniceous pencils off to the side and picked up the smoky brown gray pencil made with fumeus in order to start filling in more details of the wren. The small circles of the eyes, the faint curve of the beak, the outlines of the chest and wings. He erased an errant line extending the tip of the wing out too far to be normal and thanked the spell gods that glimmering pencils still erased. Malfoy hummed slightly, "You're pretty good at drawing for our Astronomy charts, but I didn't see you doing this for fun."

"Subluceo is mostly an Astronomy spell", Harry squinted at the card and then the careful feathers he was roughing in, "So the standard color additions are limited to colors you'll use in Astronomy. I'm just experimenting off a list of colors in Latin, really."

"Professor Flitwick is crying as we speak", Malfoy's voice deepened ever so slightly at the sarcastic inflection, but the teasing didn't have the same bite as he might have once used. Harry shrugged and began lightly tracing out the bands and splotches where colors would shift in the wings. He motioned with his left hand to the card, "Why am I drawing a wren, exactly? Shouldn't it just be holly?"

"Holly and Oak are said to have fought in the form of birds", Malfoy's voice had lightened somewhat into his vaguely bored tone, "Red, green, and white all work their way into decorations for the holidays because of oak and holly. Wrens are more common, but robins can turn up. It depends on how assimilated into Helion culture or how focused on a different faith's holiday a branch of the family is."

"Different faith?", Harry's nose crinkled slightly in disbelief, but he kept his eyes on the sketch. Malfoy made a noncommittal noise, "We used to be the priests and priestesses for the Ancients and their various faces and forms. Some families still preserve the priestly roles, but we're mostly the laymen now. A Llwydnos goes to their family's Alban Arthan party because they're a Llwydnos and it's what the Tawch does. You observe the solstices, Calan Haf, and Calan Gaeaf because you're expected to. A lot of people also add in Calennig to their New Year's day observances, but it's not as major and that's pretty much it. We've spent centuries hiding among convents and synagogues and spent time in other countries avoiding the worst of the Helion, so different branches of families have turned to other personal faiths. It was inevitable after millennia."

"Doesn't sound very sacrificial at all", Harry paused in his tracing to look up at Malfoy, a blur of black and white over the rims of his glasses until he'd raised his head a bit more. The Slytherin had crossed his arms over his chest at some point, yet his face was carefully composed into guarded neutrality as he spoke with a stilted tone, "Perhaps the ancient traditions had different views on human sacrifice; perhaps that was a more common tradition in the Celts, who were separate from us for quite a while. Alban Arthan is more of a bonfire party than a Dark ritual where an innocent child is kidnapped and sacrificed."

"And the Helion threat?", Harry had set his fumeus pencil down in exchange for the rusty brown of the ferrugineus pencil to continue tracing out color sections, "I can buy some hyperbole, but I find it hard to imagine them making up the entire thing. Someone must've gone missing at some point around the time for such a strong reaction to the name now."

"We've been around and fighting the Helion for centuries", Malfoy didn't look visibly upset, but his voice had cooled into a defensive frost, "Raids were common, and the Tawch didn't all agree to refrain from raiding on or around the time of major holidays because the Helion weren't above attacking us then. We're not some punishing force for Father Christmas, but I can't say Gwyllon haven't harmed or killed anyone near Alban Arthan", he paused for a moment to take in Harry's cool stance, "It would be a good idea if you didn't use the traditional names for our holidays while in the company of Hels. Some of their ideas about the others are worse."

"Figured that out on my own", Harry grumbled and returned to the sketch to trace out bands on the wings with the ferrugineus pencil, "I was correcting Ron on attending a Yule party at the manor, and it just slipped out. I was trying to explain why I didn't need a gift for both -- ", he cut himself off and his eyes widened slightly as he glanced across the table. The iciness around Malfoy had thawed considerably, even though his arms were still crossed, and his lips might've twitched at the admission. He cocked his head and drew out something in Brythonic in faux sweetness, " _Priod_ , you shouldn't have."

"Showing up on Christmas without a gift seemed like a bad idea", Harry sighed and ran a hand through his hair, hating how weird it felt to say that thought out loud. He was going to Malfoy Manor. Over the break. For Christmas. No wonder Ron had thought this whole blood bond thing was a joke. And yet, if he couldn't get over that, the progression of the bond and the inevitable wedding ceremony would only be worse. Baby steps. Malfoy inclined his head in agreement and spoke more seriously while folding his hands together on the table in front of him, "Alban Arthan doesn't traditionally include gift-giving, so my immediate family exchanges gifts on Christmas when our Christian friends and relatives expect us to."

"Okay", Harry nodded and twirled the glimmering pencil between his fingers, "Thanks, I guess."

"Mother and Father aren't expecting", Malfoy paused for a breath and seemed to be hunting for the correct word to describe their low expectations, "Well, they aren't expecting any big, grand gestures like an owl."

Harry blinked and stared into sincere gray eyes for a brief moment, and then he raised his shoulders in an almost imperceptible shrug, "Why would I get you an owl? You still have that Eagle owl, Tewyn, right?"

Malfoy rolled his eyes and seemed to hold back a sigh, "My family has Tewyn, but he isn't my personal owl. He actually was my grandfather's gift to Father when his NEWT scores were received, so Tewyn belongs to my father and handles familial correspondence. Each of his spouses has their own owl because it's a tradition of sorts to gift an owl directly to your spouse or buy an owl the two of you will use together."

"Oh", Harry's right hand seemed to move of its own accord to settle over his left and shield the ring hidden under its glamour, "No one said anything about that before", he paused and waved his right hand dismissively before settling it back near his notebook with Subluceo colors, "I definitely wouldn't have gotten an owl if I'd've known, but it'd be nice to have the heads up before your parents say something about it, y'know?"

"It's not a Christmas tradition per se", Malfoy glanced down at his own ring under its glamour and then traced a dark knot in the deep red grain of the mahogany table, "It's more associated with the first gift-giving occasion a couple runs into. Sometimes that's Christmas, Dydd Santes Dwynwen, a birthday, one of the minor holidays, a graduation."

"D-Santes what?", Harry mumbled slightly around the phrase that was quickly tossed off, and Malfoy shifted slightly in his chair. He kept his eyes on the table and tried to sound casual, "Dydd Santes Dwynwen, or Saint Dwynwen's Day, is an equivalent to St. Valentine's Day. A lot of Gwyllon still do something in February because it's heavily expected of us by Hels, but we tend to go small on that day."

"Like the usual 'go small'? Candy, a nice dinner, that sort of thing", Harry hoped he wasn't blushing when the full impact of what he was asking made it to his brain while his mouth betrayed him. Malfoy glanced up from the table with an eyebrow raised, but he must have decided that Harry wasn't trying to fish for anything embarrassing because he nodded, "St. Dwynwen's Day is quite a popular day for gifting owl related imagery for couples dating, in twilight, or newly married if they're not ready to or can't outright give an owl."

Harry glanced down at the abandoned sketch and back up, licking his lips to calm his nerves, "Your parents aren't - I mean, I don't have to - We don't", he widened his eyes and inclined his head slightly to Malfoy in a silent plea to answer the poorly implicated question. Malfoy shook his head, "Just a card, if anything."

Harry exhaled in relief, not bothering to hide that he didn't want to risk gift-giving on two romantically viewed holidays, and Malfoy smirked, "With that good note, I should leave you to your - ", a pause while silver eyes glanced down to the sketch of the card's cover, and the gently disapproving, "- _homework_. Rwy'n oedi'r wawr, Potter."

Green eyes refused to blink and back down, and Harry smiled sweetly, "Don't interrupt your _homework_ on my account. Rwy'n oedi'r wawr, Malfoy."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Dydd Santes Dwynwen](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dydd_Santes_Dwynwen), or St. Dwynwen's Day, is not something I made up. Courtesy of the linked Wiki, it is considered to be the Welsh equivalent to Valentine's Day and is celebrated on 25 January. However, I suspect you'll confuse people if you start going on about owls (or night-blooming flowers) because that is specific to this.
> 
> [Papal bull](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Summis_desiderantes_affectibus) about witchcraft issued by Pope Innocent VIII in 1484. The gender ratio of accused witches varied from one location to another, but I’m pretty sure I got that ⅘ number from a certain location. The weather magic note comes from [Tempestarii](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tempestarii), which overlaps with the [North Berwick](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Berwick_witch_trials) witch trials (and was rather widespread as a possible sign of witchcraft). [Daemonologie](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daemonologie)’s year of publication (1597) informed the Witchcraft Concealment Act’s year (it was written by King James VI of Scotland). Slight tweaking of the Witchcraft Act of 1735; see [Witchcraft Acts](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Witchcraft_Acts) (first act passed in 1542).
> 
> “Leeks are also an integral part of many love potions or spells including one in combination with the periwinkle flower pictured below. The 16th century book entitled ‘The Boke of Secretes of Albertus Magnus of the Vertues of Herbes, Stones and Certaine Beastes’, talks of the power of periwinkle to produce love between a man and his wife. It must be powdered and mixed with leeks and earthworms and then added to the couple’s meals.” - [Source](http://scribol.com/anthropology-and-history/occult/love-potions-made-with-bizarre-ingredients/).
> 
> Proto-Indo-European "dheusom" means 'creature that breathes' and led to the general word for a wild animal or creature. The study of (-ology) should make sense. Dheusomology is the study of crossbreed species (done by a dheusomologist), and there are specializations (other words are added as a prefix). Most of this won’t really be relevant until over the winter break.
> 
> Dheusomologists of all sorts are mostly academic Hels who are fascinated by the unnatural crossbreeding process or are interested after finding out about recessive and buried traits in Hel families, but the Tawch makes a point to send through aptly suited witches and wizards to make sure they retain access to crossbreed related material and warning of certain research efforts for hiding purposes. Due to Helion families needing crossbreed related services in the past, most of these areas of study are considered Gray rather than being clearly off limits as Dark magic.


	22. Geminids (F)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Added to Tags: Anthony Goldstein / Pansy Parkinson (background)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not quite canonical fear of mistletoe on Harry's part. I was not lying when I chose to tag this as Slow Burn, fam.
> 
> I've increased the chapter goal by one so far, but I honestly don't have the rest of the chapters finished, beta'd, and ready to post in line with the so far (more or less) weekly schedule since Oct 2018. I'm so close to the end of Part One that I don't want this to fall into hiatus, but as of posting this chapter, I can't make any guarantees about when the next one will be posted.
> 
> Update: As of 2.16.19, there are non plot updates relating to Hanukkah details. For a full breakdown of the revisions, see this post: [(Revision) Ch 22](http://lapsed-bookworm.tumblr.com/post/182990097596/revision-ch-22-geminids).

Harry unceremoniously tossed his jumper and school robes onto the foot of his bed while stepping out of his shoes. There was only so much a drying charm could do against the bitter cold that still seemed to have seeped into his clothes while walking across the snowy grounds from the greenhouses, and he wasn't going to shiver the rest of the night just to stay in uniform. A quick curved motion upwards with his wand and a murmured, "Caleo", and Harry's faded jeans and last Christmas' Weasley jumper, a deep emerald green with a gold curlicue 'H' in the center, were tingling with a Warming Charm. It wouldn't last for very long, but the Gryffindor should be able to regain some warmth while making his way through the chilled corridors of the dungeons. Pansy had looked like inviting him to the last night of Hanukkah after Potions this morning was uncomfortable if not painful, but apparently the younger students wanted another chance to win at the dreidel game. Harry shoved his charcoal winter cloak, dark gray gloves that would probably need a Warming Charm to get him through Astronomy tonight, and scarf in brilliant red and deep yellow stripes into the top of his bag before setting off.

The Gryffindor common room was cozy yet empty during this block. A fair number of the other boys in his year had taken pity on Hagrid's talk of a dwindling NEWT class and signed up for Care of Magical Creatures, and now they were outside for a double block until 5 something. Younger students were off in Potions, Charms, and other classes the older students had in the mornings, and despite the cozy armchairs and seat cushions in their study area, any NEWT students who weren't procrastinating were stopping by the library for last minute notes and book recommendations before winter break started. Harry shifted his hold on the strap of his bag and thought of the small collection of books he was dragging along so he could work on his Herbology homework after losing all of his gelt. It was better to be prepared, really. The Gryffindor instinctively brought his trainers up high enough to not trip over the small lip at the threshold of the portrait hole and turned to face the Fat Lady while she swung her portrait closed over the entrance. She nodded briefly, "Mr. Potter, 'baubles' will remain the password until break starts on Monday."

"Thanks", Harry nodded in return and spun in the direction of the nearest staircase that would lead to the dungeons. The Fat Lady would very likely invite her friend Violet over once break started, and her austere demeanor would disappear once the two got into some Christmas wine. The passwords over winter breaks tended to be shorter, simpler, and not get all caught up in Latin compared to passwords at other times of the year. Harry waited on the empty landing for the staircase he needed to drift back his way from its position along the opposite wall, and he couldn't really blame the Fat Lady for her antics over break. She had been a portrait for who knew how many decades, and she had to reserve a little time to enjoy the pictorial afterlife. He stepped onto the staircase and continued walking while it settled into place, a slow unhurried pace because Harry had no interest in running, or even lightly jogging, to the Slytherin common room this time. Another staircase, minding the trick step that liked to trip students going down, and the Gryffindor turned away from the entranceway of the Great Hall towards the dungeons. He only had to use Point Me once at a Y that he couldn't remember Malfoy taking before arriving successfully at the stretch of stone wall that would turn into an archway.

"Password's been changed", Malfoy was leaning nonchalantly against the stone wall next to the hidden entrance with his arms crossed over his chest, and even without his black school robes, Harry had to blink and look at him straight on in order to pick out the primarily black and gray uniform from the shadows. He shrugged and motioned to the archway with an 'after you' flair. Malfoy pushed away from the wall and raised his eyebrow, silently glancing down at the Weasley sweater, while walking forward in front of the stones. Harry shifted the strap of his bag on his shoulder and felt the need to stop that silence from slipping into judgement, "Er - I wind up with a fair bit of green because everyone keeps matching my eyes. Or something."

"I am familiar with how color coordination works, Potter", Malfoy spoke in an even, light tone as if he didn't see why Harry had felt moved to justify the sweater's color. Harry squinted at the back of the blonde's head while he drawled out a longer phrase in Latin than last time, "Nec dextrorsum, nec sinistrorsum."

The stones disappeared, and Harry followed the Slytherin into the common room that was set up rather similar to last time. All of the branches of the menorahs were completely filled with candles, though some of the larger and taller ones didn't have unused candles because they hadn't finished burning all the way down yet, and the composition of marbled lake looked a little more like a pale green with frosty white swirls than the slightly darker green of last week. The students gathered around the common room in the varying green armchairs and couches also didn't look quite as relaxed as they had last time, and Harry wasn't entirely sure why. Was the last night supposed to be this tense? They still had a good half hour before sunset, though, so maybe the mood would lighten then. The brave first year - Carmen sounded right - hesitated before giving a small wave, and the Gryffindor returned it with a confused squint. Her dark eyes flitted to the unfamiliar student standing near the mantle eyeing the first years' menorah, and Harry followed her gaze to a vaguely familiar looking fifth year with short dirty blond hair that was mostly covered by a circular head covering the Gryffindor usually saw the Kleids wearing on holidays. Instead of their inconspicuous black ones, this student was wearing a knitted canary yellow and black striped one. The Hufflepuff was standing ramrod straight and seemed to be the source of the uneasy feeling of the younger students. Pansy glanced towards Harry and slowly stood to walk to the middle of the open space between the couches, stopping in the center of the large circular emerald green rug. She cleared her throat and spoke quietly to the assembled group, "Lukas Smith", a motion to the student, who had turned to clearly reveal the canary yellow of Hufflepuff in his uniform, "has accepted an invitation to attend the last night of lighting the candles. We have to -", a pause and her voice rose ever so slightly, "- make some slight adjustments."

"I don't mean to intrude. I've attended other inter-House lightings, and I didn't realize it would interrupt your House customs", Lukas had folded his hands behind him in what Harry could only assume was a measure to look less threatening while his voice tilted up in apology, "Lighting one of the chanukiah will suffice, if you're waiting on someone who isn't arriving until sunset. I wouldn't want them to miss out because of a guest."

"Well", Pansy glanced over Harry and Malfoy's heads towards the stone archway, and then she turned to look at the menorahs sitting on their stools. She motioned to the farthest right, "The seventh years' chanukiah can handle extra burn time. We can light that one."

Lukas walked around the couch and armchairs to stand closer to the row of menorahs, and his touches of bright yellow made the shades of green look deeper and darker, even with the torches in their sconces providing as much light as usual. Harry glanced to his side where Malfoy remained standing, hands folded in front of him politely. He was sharing some sort of look with the bright blue eyes of Parkinson, who didn't look completely comfortable with changing the established routine of her House. There was a wave of whispers as Pansy turned away from the first years by their menorah and joined the majority of the students along the far wall. While they wanted to wait and light the first years' menorah before sunset because it was what they'd been doing for the past week or so, and apparently the usual method for several years, several of the other students wanted to go ahead and light their years' menorah in order to move onto other activities. A lull where a few glanced at Lukas out of some concern or guilt, but he shrugged, "I don't expect you to hold to the same observance of Shabbos as I do. You're more than free to go on to homework if you choose."

The Slytherins ultimately decided that everyone would kneel and light their menorahs, but Harry found himself unable to walk around the furniture to get a better view of the event. The students were speaking in low voices, and it felt like he was suddenly intruding on something he shouldn't be seeing. He shifted his weight from one foot to the other before slowly turning towards the selection of walnut tables and chairs. The cushions on the chairs were split between the Brunswick green that matched the armchairs and the bottle green that matched the soft fabric of the couches. Harry set his bag on the stone floor next to one of the chairs facing the door and awkwardly stood next to it while trying to not listen to the quiet Hebrew. Parts sounded familiar from last time, but they were speaking faster, almost chanting, and it sounded like something was missing. Malfoy appeared with his own bag that had been hidden among the chair legs at a different table and sat down at the chair opposite Harry. He slowly sat down as well, swallowing nervously and not sure of how to ask why Malfoy wasn't with the other students. They may not need the English translation of the blessings, but the lack of a deep baritone just seemed to add to this day feeling off. Malfoy glanced towards the windows, and Harry mirrored the twist of his neck, watching students who had finished rising from their knees. Lukas had turned away from the line of flickering flame, and he nodded towards their table before walking out of the archway.

"What was that all about?", Harry leaned forward slightly as he whispered, not wanting to draw attention to just how different today had been from the first night. His gaze shifted from the pale gray stones of the entrance, slightly above Malfoy's blond hair, to his face, which looked carefully arranged to be blank. Malfoy's gray eyes flickered to the dark wood of the table in between his pale hands, and he kept his voice down while the rest of the students dispersed around the common room, "Lukas Smith is from a different movement, or denomination. He needs to get back to his own common room to light the Shabbat candles before sunset."

"Is that the same thing as Shabbos?", Harry found his gaze had drifted down slightly to the knot of Malfoy's green and silver tie in a surprisingly simple Half Windsor. He'd been expecting something with a little more pizazz for a holiday, but that thought was unlikely to go over well if shared, since Harry himself had shown up in jeans and a jumper. Malfoy nodded once, "Shabbat is the day of rest and abstaining from certain activities defined as work. Most of my House takes a bit of a more relaxed approach when it comes to some of the activities, but it really comes down to the individual."

Malfoy was pulling out a pale gray book that looked rather similar to a Muggle binder when he flipped the cover open, but Harry's curiosity won out on letting the topic slide. He gestured broadly towards the windows looking out into the lake and asked quietly, "Do denominations not mix very well?"

The pale fingers stopped in the midst of searching through neatly labeled tabs, and dark gray storm cloud eyes rose up towards him at an angle Harry recognized from Professor McGonagall looking over the rims of her glasses in a disapproving manner. Malfoy's jaw clenched for a second, but then he exhaled a quiet sigh and raised his head slightly while his face fell into a neutral mask, "The movements can intermingle well enough. I was asked to not participate because I'm technically not Jewish", Malfoy paused and glanced down at the sheaf of parchment covered with neat lines of his cursive, "Some of my relatives are, though not the right ones, and Pansy is a good childhood friend, so I've been exposed enough to know which wine to bring to Shabbat, what happens at holidays, and such, but I would technically have to convert to be counted among their movement."

"Oh", Harry looked down at a chart on one of the parchment pages that reminded him of the example diagram he'd seen in one of the bonsai books about calculating and mapping the steepness of angles while shaping the bonsai in growth. That chart looked more complicated than the example, and it quietly clicked into place that Malfoy was paging through his collected research, charts, and notes about his summer bonsai spell project. He shook his head and tried to think of an adequate reply instead of getting distracted by the tantalizing complexities of the project, "You joined in last time, so I thought -- "

"We doubted you knew exactly what was going on or being said", Malfoy's voice sounded a bit clipped, and Harry suspected the glaring reminder of technically not counting had struck some nerve that was usually quiet and hidden away, "Someone would probably have to translate, or you'd just spend the rest of the night asking questions."

Harry glanced over to the younger children sitting around the edge of the circular rug spinning the dreidel. The tension in the room had evaporated once Lukas left, but there was still an undercurrent of uneasiness. He glanced to the grandfather clock and saw that it was still before sunset, and a sweep of the room revealed that the Ravenclaws from last time were missing. They may not have known about the Hufflepuff coming to visit before sunset, Harry mused while brushing his thumb over his ring. It most likely looked odd to those who could only see the empty skin of the glamour, but the swirling feel of the snakes and the inability to move the ring made repetitive movements surprisingly calming. Carmen and her friend were raking in the pot of gelt in a round where the group had split into partners, and Harry wondered if he could maybe get away with not losing to them tonight if he stayed back at the table. The thought had barely finished passing through his mind when a third year looked over his shoulder, "Are you staying back there with your priod all night?"

"My what?", Harry's nose crinkled slightly as he glanced at Malfoy. He should've known better than to not ask the last time he'd heard that Brythonic word tossed around, and the blond git in question held up his left hand, glamour free and silver ring glinting in the torch light, "Spouse. Children within the Tawch know, but not necessarily all of Slytherin."

"Fuck", Harry exhaled softly and ran a hand through his untidy hair. Slowly, it seemed like more and more people knew, even though they were trying to not talk about it. Discretion got harder the more people who knew about a topic, but the irritated bubble that had quickly formed in his chest popped when Harry thought over how well Gwyllon knew discretion. Considering what their families knew and taught them, it was probably easy to not gab about an accidental blood bond. Not to mention, he supposed there was someone who knew when people were going to be initiated into the community, so everyone else could find out without the initiate needing to make a public statement. He glanced up to the waiting circle of younger faces and shook his head before standing and walking over to join them. The only good thing about their pre-sunset rounds of the dreidel game was that they were partnered up and Harry's partner was luckier with spinning the top. The remaining time until sunset faded into the quiet chatter of older students and the scratch of Malfoy's quill as he wrote something down from his record of the summer project until the gentle scrape of stones signaled the arrival of the missing Ravenclaws, Anthony Goldstein and his cousin.

Carmen instantly stood and abandoned the game in order to stand in front of the side table with the last unlit menorah on it. Her friend scrambled up to join her and stand next to Anthony's cousin, while Pansy smiled warmly at Anthony who had curled up next to her on the couch. Someone snickered and hissed, "Get a room you two", and Anthony glared briefly at the circle of mostly younger students. Harry raised his eyebrows in a plea of innocence and wished that some of the Gryffindors were so subtle in greeting their boyfriends and girlfriends. Pansy simply rolled her eyes and stood in order to light the shamash. She glanced back over Harry's head towards the table where Malfoy was still writing on his parchment, and Harry caught a fleeting look of concern in her blue eyes before she composed herself. She stood on the opposite side of the walnut table and settled into her calm explaining voice for the first years, "I know the others earlier sped up their Hebrew and were chanting, but you don't need to do that. We've been using a slower pace for the past week, and -", her volume briefly increased in emphasis, "- _someone_ has been helping to set the rhythm, who is welcome to join us tonight."

A quiet grumble came from behind Harry in the direction of the table Malfoy was sitting at, "I'm not hard of hearing, you know."

Pansy spared a glance in his direction and then turned back to face the first years and their menorah. Carmen picked the shamash up in her left hand, and Pansy took a deep breath. A gentle echo swirled around Harry as everyone else in the room mirrored her in order to sync their breathing, "Barukh atah Adonai, Eloheinu, melekh ha'olam…"

The rich rise and fall of Malfoy's voice seemed to loosen the last bit of lingering unease in the room, particularly among the younger students, and Harry had the distinct feeling that they may not have experienced the lack of the deep voice guiding the pace and rhythm while at Hogwarts until that night, "Blessed are you, Lord, our God, sovereign of the universe…"

"…asher kidishanu b'mitz'votav v'tzivanu…"

"…Who has sanctified us with His commandments and commanded us…"

"…l'had' neir shel Hanukkah. Amein."

"…To light the lights of Hanukkah. Amen."

"Barukh atah Adonai, Eloheinu, melekh ha'olam…"

"Blessed are you, Lord, our God, sovereign of the universe…"

"…she'asah nisim la'avoteinu bayamim haheim baziman hazeh. Amein."

"…Who performed miracles for our ancestors in those days at this time. Amen."

"Now", Pansy pointed to the candle on her right, "Start with this candle and move to _your_ right, and…", she waited until Carmen had finished sliding the small orange flame from her central candle to each waiting candle with its gentle swirls of green and blue in the line of eight, "Return the shamash to the center."

Carmen carefully tucked her candle back into its centermost branch and shared a small smile with Pansy. Pansy motioned to the couches and armchairs with the rest of the students, who had been able to all gather and watch instead of being busy lighting their own menorahs, and waved her hands dismissively, "Chag urim sameach, and don't overdo it on the chocolate gelt tonight. Madam Pomfrey was not amused with you lot needing a batch of Stomach Calming Solution after curfew last night."

Older students returned to their conversations or homework, and younger students collected all of their in progress chocolate coins to divvy with Anthony's cousin in the game. A quick passing of the galleons, sickles, and knuts, fumbling around with the box of extra pieces, and splitting the partners into single players, and then Harry was plunged into a déjà vu feeling. He might as well have been tossing the chocolate to the other players and done away with the pretense of being instructed to add his coins to the pot. It was disappointing, but it did seem to open up the younger students after a round where one of them won. The nosey third year - as Harry thought of the boy who had revealed that most of Slytherin knew Malfoy and him were blood bonded - divided the gelt among the players for the next round. Snippets of gossip floated around the circle, and Harry let it wash over him. Davin (the nosey third year) had been caught in Madam Puddifoot's Tea Shop with a Ravenclaw girl in his year on the last trip to Hogsmeade, and Suzette (a second year) was friends with the girl's sister, so she had heard that the girl in question wasn't interested in going on another trip to Hogsmeade after the break. Davin seemed embarrassed that Suzette knew yet relieved by her news, and Harry shook his head as he spun the dreidel. Relationship drama was only going to get more complicated for these students, who seemed incredibly young at the moment. The dreidel landed on the merciful blue of Nun so he didn't do anything and let the next player spin.

"Harry?"

The Gryffindor turned slightly to look at Carmen's friend with her copper hair and pale green eyes. She seemed a bit fey, but he certainly wasn't going to say that to her face. Appearance based observations were quite easy to fuck up and Pansy would probably have his head on a plate for misconstrued teasing. Harry nodded at the student, and she glanced over his shoulder towards the far corner with the study tables briefly before meeting his green eyes and leaning forward, "Is it really true that you have erasable gel pens?"

"Er", Harry's mind blanked on why she thought he had gel pens of all things. Erasable pen? That ranked up there among the weirdest questions he'd been asked since discovering the Wizarding world. He paused at the thought and tilted his head thoughtfully. The young witch seemed to know what a gel pen was, which was more common in the Muggle world. Harry dug his wand out of his back pocket and pointed it behind his shoulder while hoping that his mentally used term would work with the spell, "Accio Astronomy pencils."

A moment later, the Gryffindor regretted his decision because he'd forgotten how many different colors he'd made in the past few weeks and they were all landing on the rug around him. Fuck, this was a definite sign that he needed to transition some of these back into normal Muggle graphite. The young witch's eyes lit up as she picked up the closest pencil, virens pallesco, a pale minty green he'd discovered while trying to get the regular virens pencil to lighten. Harry picked up his short viola pencil and ended the glimmering spell with a wave of his wand and, "Finite incantatem", whispered towards his palm. She grasped the offered pencil and squinted at it with an incredulous expression, "It's a regular pencil?"

"There's a spell to make ink glimmer so it's glow-in-the-dark", Harry cast a regular Subluceo on the pencil in her hand, and it turned the typical pale blue, "It's often used in Astronomy, and the spell also works on the ink in pens. Usually, a pastel shade of the unspelled color is the default, but you can start adding descriptors and qualifiers to the spell in order to get different colors."

Carmen looked a bit bored with the mint pencil as she looked it over and handed it back to her friend, "I thought you said it was a gel pen?"

"It looked like it from a distance", the copper haired witch sounded defensive and a little embarrassed. Harry waved his hand reassuringly, "Gel pens are the closest Muggle item that has the same shades of colors the spell can make. However, this spell recreates the glitter quality of metallic pens without the mess of glitter."

"Prove it", Carmen's friend sounded confident that Harry couldn't, but he smiled and waved his wand over his shoulder again while whispering two more Accio spells. The closed scroll with the wren sitting on a snowy branch and surrounded by a holly border was opened first, and Carmen herself looked interested in the possibility of erasable colored graphite. As far as Harry knew, erasable ink wasn't particularly common in the corridors of Hogwarts, and they were both intrigued by the little notebook with color swatches. The older students in the circle had obediently paused their game, but for most of them the Astronomy pencils weren't an incredibly new piece of magic. Once you take an Astronomy class and master the basic spell, the expansion of Subluceo became easier to process. Carmen and her friend broke away from the circle with the majority of Harry's pencils and the notebook, so they could retreat into a darker corner of the room to practice the spell and doodle on parchment Carmen had pulled from somewhere. Harry felt oddly pleased that he'd managed to awe what could only be a half-blood based on her knowledge of Muggle items and simultaneous acceptance of magic.

"How charming", Millicent Bulstrode had picked up the abandoned piece of parchment with Harry's hand drawn copy of Narcissa's Alban Arthan card. She pulled a quill out of her dark brown bun on the top of her head and pressed the parchment to her plaid skirted knee in order to scrawl something across the top of it. Harry was resigned to the fact that he wasn't going to get the drawing back immediately as the older students passed it among themselves with Millicent walking the larger distances between outstretched hands. Nods of acceptance, a few disinterested shrugs, some raised eyebrows that Harry wasn't sure weren't surprise, and a general background murmur that it was actually decent if not good. The Gryffindor held out his hand patiently after Millicent had made the rounds of the students seated around the rug on the floor or in chairs and couches, but she ignored him. She walked up to the mantle of the fireplace and eyed the far left side that was empty yet closest to the flickering light of a sconce. Finally, after tilting her head a few times, she waved her wand at the back of the parchment and carefully stuck the drawing to the stone above the mantle. Harry sighed as he looked up at her addition to the drawing, in a script far neater than he could ever achieve with a quill, 'To: Slytherin', in the top left corner and 'From: Harry Potter', in the top right.

"Well", Malfoy's voice deepened slightly in amusement as it carried from the study table in the far back, "Now Potter doesn't have anything to procrastinate his homework with."

Harry's grumbled comparison to Hermione was lost amid the younger students returning to their dreidel - Davin pointedly skipped out on passing out chocolate to him in the new round, so he guessed that Malfoy's homework comment was being listened to - and Anthony glancing up from editing his Defense essay across Pansy's shins. It didn't look particularly comfortable for either one of them, unless a cushioning charm was involved, but it didn't look like she was going to move her legs from his lap either. The Ravenclaw pointedly shifted his gaze from Harry to a point above his head in the direction of the study tables, and Harry rolled his eyes while standing and brushing off his jeans. Having more than one person channel Hermione's zealous commitment to homework and studying was just a bit worse than getting the full force of her prodding him and Ron into their essays. Anthony and Malfoy probably would've had heart attacks if they'd have gotten to know him earlier in their time at Hogwarts when Ron and him pushed their procrastination just a little too far at times. As it was, Harry slid into the dark wooden chair with a bottle green cushion with only a small sigh at being nudged into doing his homework because he knew there was little point in fighting the other students.

"Have you read _The Pros and Cons of Ikebana in Bonsai Magic_?", Malfoy didn't pause in writing out his list of edits to make to his summer paper in order to meet Professor Sprout's essay requirements, but Harry could tell by the slower and deliberate crossing of a 't' that the other boy was devoting as much attention to a response as he could while multitasking. Harry pulled his bag onto his lap and began setting his Herbology books across his side of the walnut table top with the book in question - an off-white glossy cover with a minimalistic example featuring peach blossoms - on the farthest left. He nodded and clarified when he remembered that Malfoy probably couldn't see the movement, "Yeah. The idea sounds good, but you had a point that ikebana is complicated when looking at all the different styles and schools. The historical spell doesn't include it already, so I should probably leave it alone."

Malfoy tutted in agreement and pulled out a smaller sheaf of parchment from his bag for more detailed notes than his large to do list warranted. Harry wasn't entirely sure, but the larger scroll seemed to include abbreviated diagrams and charts. Ingredient preservation and stasis spells looked awfully complicated. Silver eyes glanced at the book to Malfoy's right and ignored the notebooks and Muggle paper Harry was spreading in front of himself, "Even students at Mahoutokoro, who take specialized Herbology courses in bonsai and ikebana magic, don't really customize their own spells until sometime in university. Professor Sprout wasn't exaggerating that combining floral magic isn't easy."

Harry simply nodded and carried on with pulling out books from his bag. The familiar pale green text with post-it notes marking off chapters and sections related to growing separate tree species, _Seeing the Trees for the Forest: Multiplying Magic with Multi-Trunk Bonsai Styles_ , was incredibly useful in dropping hints and footnotes about other books to check out, so it was tucked into the closest space to the left of his notebook. The pale red clay colored book, _Containers and Decorative Elements: How to Alter Magical Intent After Growing_ , was set off to his right because Harry was going to have to provide citations on why a certain shape, color, and size pot needed to be used for the final product. The growing pots were multipurpose and neutral so that everyone could use them while shaping and styling their bonsai, so there was no need to get concerned with what those looked like. After taking down the note from _Seeing the Trees for the Forest_ , Harry had also picked up a book that covered root tangling prevention systems, and Neville swore it was beginner friendly, but the thick black leather binding and copper lettering made it appear otherwise. He pushed _Introduction to Mahō no Cultivation & Care for Bonsai Part II: Magical Care & Maintenance, 2nd Edition_ off to the far right until it was absolutely necessary to crack it open, and Harry turned his attention to the sketch with its boxed off area for the to-be-decided container.

"That's more along the lines of two tree than two-trunk", Malfoy murmured while squinting at the top of Harry's sketch where he'd incorrectly written out the style name. Harry shrugged while flipping through the book on pots with elaborate and unadorned examples sprinkled across the pages, "I changed the design after writing out the title. I have plenty of time to fix the spell name."

Malfoy hummed but decided not to comment in favor of turning the cultivation book and pulling it closer to his side of the table. He seemed to be double checking a quote or making sure his citation was correct, and even though Harry objectively knew why the Slytherin was already so far ahead and only needed to make careful edits while writing out the essay for Sprout, he still felt the nervous skitter of his pulse quickening at the thought of being late. Too many years of feeling behind while working next to Hermione. The Gryffindor wasn't even procrastinating on this assignment and he still needed to stop himself from wondering if the due date was closer than he thought. He twirled his unenchanted graphite pencil between his fingers and settled into the first chapter that was covering a directory of color associations and which styles were associated with glazed or unglazed finishes. Harry hadn't realized the glossy look of Aunt Petunia's clay pots for starting flowers before the winter ground had thawed was from a glaze until he'd skimmed over some sort of kiln directions about doing it yourself. The only small grace he had was that both pine and maple got along with unglazed clay pots, and this would narrow down his color choices. It seemed a bit silly, but he wasn't really feeling the pale red of usual clay when it would clash with the brilliant fiery red of the Japanese maple come autumn. The soft gray color in the neutral list looked like it would do, though, and Harry thought he could add a spin on the gray areas of truth if he needed more justification.

"Have you tried _Seeing the Trees for the Forest_ on containers for multiple tree styles?", Malfoy kept his question light and curious, but Harry suspected the frantic flipping back and forth between the second and third chapters of _Containers and Decorative Elements_ while he took down conflicting notes and grew more frustrated with why the shape of the pot was so important had gotten to him. He stared up over the top of his glasses at the blurry gray and white form on the other side of the table with what he hoped was a stern look. It was a little hard to tell when he couldn't accurately read facial expressions while doing so. Harry glared at the blurred green book in question and tried to keep his voice as calm as possible, "I'm not doing forest style, and I really don't want to have to haul in a huge slab of something for a full sized tree. All of these options aren't exactly getting along", he looked down at his notes that were a little more scrawled than pencil usually wound up due to irritation, "Deciduous works with oval, and both deciduous and conifer species can get by in a round pot, but the informal upright works best with rectangular pots because of the stability of the four corners, while the square pots provide grounding for the cascade styles and reduce the likelihood of the branches touching the side of the container."

"That's because those are the quick and more common associations", Malfoy ran his fingers across tabs in his large book near the front, and he flipped to a section and scanned a list until his finger stopped near the bottom of the page, "Depending on the goal of the spell, the informal upright can work with oval containers, and cascades can be aligned with squares, hexagonal, octagonal, or round containers of certain colors or ornamentation", he paused while glancing over the list on the next page, "You could also go with the options for multiple trunk styles. Unless your goal needs a lot of stabilization or grounding, I would go for oval or round because there's more overlap with those types and the cyclical energy helps with multi-seasonal time durations."

"Sprout said the round pots were only going to be in sizes for single trees", Harry ran a hand through his hair while thinking over the choices and staring intently at the picture in the book with examples of the four main container shapes. The octagonal pot was tempting for the parallels to the eight stones the historical called for, but it was considered an irregular container and would not be automatically stocked for the class. Maybe if he got an order in, he could request one? But no, the extraneous shaped containers seemed to only come in glazed options, and the entrapment magic wouldn't work with the goal of the spell. Historically, it was a matter of truthfulness, but Harry suspected that he might have to reword the goal after going through the growing, pruning, and shaping information (grow something, shape the truth, prune lies?). He lightly traced in the shape of an oval container on his sketch well above the contradicting notes and nodded to himself, "Oval seems like the best compromise."

Malfoy stared at the sketch thoughtfully, and Harry wondered if it made less sense upside down, but the blond seemed to understand the train of thought. He flipped back to his original place in his book and continued copying down chart information onto his smaller sheaf of parchment. Malfoy wrote for a line or two before adding as an afterthought, "If you're worried about the short, squat composition contradicting your cascade style, you could use a tall, slender stand. It would visually replace the cascade specific square container that's often taller and more slender than other pots without forcing you into conflict with your informal upright pine."

"The final presentation is a problem for future-Harry", Harry jotted down the note and immediately pushed it to the back of his mind, while he shuffled his book arrangement around his notebook and sketch. He wouldn't need _Containers and Decorative Elements_ until it was time to come back to the notes about objects and stones in the historical spell, and despite rereading the section on the importance of root tangling prevention, _Seeing the Trees for the Forest_ didn't go into further detail about the systems that would do so (other than a footnote and a list of other books to consult at the end of the chapter). It was finally time to break down and approach the thick black leather-bound monster that Malfoy was slowly flipping through in front of him. There were charts with 'x's and circles in configurations and a swirling diagram notated with Japanese with the magical theorems as to why these charts did their magic. Harry's lip curled in partial boredom at the thought of wading through potentially dense magical theory. He only needed a brief explanation about why the root tangling prevention system was necessary (already completed) and which system and configuration would work best for his spell, not flashbacks to Arithmancy calculations in Transfiguration. Did knowing why magic did magic actually help spell casting? He wasn't convinced.

"It only looks complicated when the translation spell's worn off", Malfoy turned a page and seemed to compare one of his neatly drawn diagrams in his binder like book with a similar one in the text. Harry hummed doubtfully and looked at one of his loose pages from his notebook with the list of supplies for next term. Professor Sprout would automatically be providing sets of go-rods, which were small rods made from pine split into five segments (go being five in Japanese, he could only presume the shi in the four segmented rods meant four). It had to do with the Japanese elements, and depending on which element governed the spells and charms locked into the wood, the go-rods would do slightly different types of magical assistance. Chi (earth) go-rods helped with speeding up and controlling the growth spells, so that they didn't need to literally wait years for the trees to grow. Sui (water) go-rods somehow helped with irrigation, but Sprout had already reassured their class that unless they went for a huge forest style spell, it would be very unlikely that they would need to use those. Fū (wind) go-rods helped with shaping and styling, so Harry would undoubtedly be looking into those for help with getting his angles right in his trees. The shi-rods were involved in the deadwood techniques, but that seemed too complicated when his bonsai spell was already combining several styles. He frowned at his own notes when he realized that Professor Sprout had somewhat given them their answer in terms of root tangling prevention systems while explaining the elemental breakdown; Ka (fire) go-rods dissuaded growth in soil. The only thing Harry had left to figure out was how many rods and how to arrange them.

"Oli, you've already had three sickles", Anthony's voice rose in the stern warning of an older relative, and Harry glanced up to see Anthony's cousin - Oli, apparently - guiltily rewrap the chocolate coin he'd opened. The younger students looked as if they'd come to an end of their rounds of spinning the dreidel and were trying and failing to fairly split the pot. Most of them seemed to prefer the caramel galleons except for Oli, who was fine with taking the leftover dark chocolate and sea salt sickles. The minty knuts had already disappeared, and Harry narrowed his eyes at the rug suspiciously. If he hadn't broken the rules on the first night, he would've never gotten a piece of the chocolate gelt. Perhaps it was poor self-control more than malice, he thought as Oli proceeded to eat the sickle he'd already opened once Anthony had gone back to his essay. Harry was nearly an adult and could surely buy his own holiday candy if he really wanted some. He was brought back to the world of homework by the soft clearing of Malfoy's throat, and Harry turned back towards their table, feeling just as guilty as Oli had been. Malfoy turned and slid the book back towards the reluctant Gryffindor with a noise that sounded like a cross between a disapproving hum and a tsk, "They're certainly not going to read your mind if you want a piece of chocolate, Potter."

"I'm fine", Harry muttered somewhat defensive that Malfoy had picked up on part of what had distracted him, and he pulled the thick book into his lap with an ungraceful lift and slide maneuver. He turned to the front of the book in order to skim the table of contents and find the chapter on the Ka go-rods while expanding, feeling an urge to justify his answer, "I just need to get the arrangement for preventing the roots of my trees from tangling together, and I'll be done with Herbology for the night. I should really look back over the reading on the Geminids before the quiz in Astronomy tonight, and I think I need to check a book out for my Charms essay before the library closes tonight, and -- ", he cut himself off from rambling at Malfoy's raised eyebrow, but added a little quietly as if it were an afterthought, "We're close to dinner anyways."

Malfoy made a rather noncommittal noise, but Harry readjusted his glasses and focused on the page before him. He hadn't been lying, really. They were close to the first block of dinner, and it looked like the _Mahō no_ text was more beginner friendly than he'd feared. _The Ka go-rod system works in multiples of five rods depending on how large the container is and what shape is being used. Forest styles with multiple trees may need the go-rods along the outer rim in a multiple of five, while most containers under three feet only need five go-rods in a particular arrangement. Squares and rectangles align better with 'x's, ovals and round containers are best suited by circles, and other shapes are frequently split in half by a straight dividing line._ Harry skimmed the section that went into more detail for two trees until he found the answer he needed, _Constricting the circle of go-rods to the center of the container works best for preventing two separate trees from tangling their roots together._ Bam. He dutifully copied out the notes and the citation before sliding the book back onto the table and closing it. Malfoy glanced up from a book he was reading, having at some point put his Herbology homework away, but didn't feel the need to comment. Harry stretched, feeling absurdly proud of himself for meeting his goal on this project before dinner, and began to pack away his notebook, papers, and the books into his bag.

Oli was standing near the armrest of the couch Anthony was sitting on and staring silently at the back of his dark brown hair, apparently trying to communicate a desire to leave by sheer will alone. Anthony appeared to feel his younger cousin's stare and kept glancing at the grandfather clock to check the time. After it was one minute past the start of dinner, Oli sighed dramatically and walked out of the Slytherin common room. Harry frowned and kept a snicker to himself because he was fairly certain he was in no place to judge other younger students in being dramatic. Food was a very important affair, and the rest of the students seemed to agree on some level. The younger students who hadn't bothered with bringing homework to work on after lighting the menorahs were the first to disperse into the corridor and head up to the Great Hall, but Carmen and her friend volunteered to stay behind until Crabbe and Goyle showed up in about a half hour. Pansy hadn't been kidding when she said that someone had to be in the common room while the candles were lit, and they both looked to still be occupied by Harry's Astronomy pencils. Malfoy slid the book he'd been reading into his bag and left it there, while Harry at least tried to finish gathering everything into his bag. He had to reconfigure how his cloak, scarves, and gloves had settled to the bottom in order to lay them across the top of the contents of his bag, and by the time he was done, Pansy and Anthony were standing patiently near the end of the couch with Malfoy. While the archway was wide enough to fit two people, they automatically filed out one behind the other and settled into a two by two walk up through the twists and turns of the dungeons, Goldstein and Parkinson, Malfoy and himself.

The unlikely quartet - Harry refused to think about the technicality that they were all couples - made it all the way to the entranceway of the Great Hall before something ruined the odd sense of normalcy. Pansy and Anthony had just crossed the threshold near the stairs a few feet in front of them when Harry felt a tug slightly above his navel. He froze, shot a sidelong glance to Malfoy who looked just as confused as he was, and then they both looked up above their heads. A small little sprig of greenery with white berries. Harry's breath caught for a second, and he felt the jittery spike of adrenaline as he realized why the tug was familiar - mistletoe. Malfoy scoffed at the greenery while it slowly grew in lazy spirals and rolled his eyes, "Mistletoe, really?"

Harry had no idea how Malfoy could sound so calm. They were caught in a proximity charm that was much stronger than the one their blood bond gave off, and there was only one way to end it. Green eyes swept around the entranceway quickly, taking stock of the openness (not good, no cover to hide from other students) and emptiness (Anthony and Pansy had walked into the Great Hall already, and mercifully no one else was around). However, it was the start of dinner and Arithmancy students would be walking down the staircase any minute now. There was something unnerving about how a lull had formed, so the entranceway was clear, and it reminded Harry of too many times in previous years when someone would concoct a plan to jump him under convenient mistletoe. He'd let his guard down after the blood bond had formed because he thought it would keep away the pesky December magic - that fidelity measure had now backfired - and Harry didn't have the invisibility cloak or the Marauder's map. It was more surprising that he hadn't fallen victim to a group of giggling fans earlier with how lax he'd been this year. Not good, not good, not good - Harry turned evenly to keep himself from overbalancing at the tug of the proximity charm and scanned the vicinity again.

"It's more of an Irish custom than one that caught on in the Tawch", Malfoy spoke softly, and Harry turned to look at him. Silver eyes were glinting with amusement in the torch light from the nearby sconces, and his face was neutral in a way that looked academically curious. His shoulders were relaxed, hands still tucked into the front pockets of his uniform's dress pants, and Malfoy didn't even look like this was an inconvenience. Harry tried to keep his breathing even and as quiet as possible, ears straining to hear whether anybody was approaching. Fuck stones and their ability to make sounds echo. He turned to look up the grand staircase then down the corridor on its opposite side. Quick, flighty glances, and his right hand had settled onto his wand in his back pocket without thinking. He needed to calm down enough to think. Incendio had never worked on the damned enchanted plants in the past, and it actually had the habit of making them grow even bigger. It was much easier to go to great lengths to avoid the traps lurking at Ys and turns in between corridors than to try to attack them. Harry had never had any luck with breaking the proximity charm on his own without giving in and kissing the other student - well, honestly, it had only ever been witches who collected in intimidating groups around the mistletoe. The few times he'd gotten ensnared by the large ambushes Professor McGonagall had appeared to do something with her wand and dismiss the plant, but this still wasn't good. One on one and no one to help.

"I've heard that if both students use In -- ", Malfoy's voice was quiet, but the stones were making too much of an echo. Harry shushed him and took a small step forward, wincing at the uncomfortable tugging feeling in his stomach. The corridor was still clear, but his unfortunate partner under the parasitic excuse for a plant needed to shut up. Another glance up the grand staircase. Was that the echo of footsteps heralding the Arithmancy students? Or, he turned back towards the dungeons, was someone else coming from another direction? Fuck, there was only one way out of this, and Harry did not want to be seen kissing Malfoy. Their discretion would be shot to hell, and the whole school would find out before break had even officially started, and if someone talked to any reporter about this while they were at home -- he startled at the feather light brush of Malfoy's outstretched hand against his shoulder. Harry instantly took a large enough step back to grimace at the protesting proximity charm and shook his head, half whispering, half croaking, "Incendio doesn't work. It never works - the mistletoe gets bigger."

"If it's just one person", Malfoy spoke softly like he was talking to something wild and spooked, and Harry found it was hard to look him in the eye for more than a second at a time. How was Malfoy so calm? Why did he seem so curious about how to get out of this? There was only one way, and Harry's stomach bottomed out to its new home somewhere near his knees. He was supposed to have almost two years before that had to be approached. Too soon - they couldn't be seen - a twisting feeling of panic - Harry glanced at Malfoy sharply when they both heard the unmistakable echo of someone laughing on a landing or two above the Great Hall. Fuck. Harry tried to take a deep breath, but something was curling around his chest. Malfoy looked startled as he glanced back up at the mistletoe. The student - or students, a crowd, a mob - might've seen it already. Fuck. He reached down into his chest, into the shadowy reservoir of Darkness, and hissed the first word that came to mind while flinging the gray shadow at the offensive green leaves and white berries, "Creisioni."

Silver eyes widened in surprise as the mistletoe burst into flames and ashes began to drift down over their heads. Malfoy looked more shocked that Harry had destroyed the plant than having been under it, and he frowned in confusion through the falling ash. Harry's heart was still beating too fast, not quite evenly, and he flinched at the sound of dress shoes clicking and clattering on the stone steps above them. He turned sharply on his heel, the rubber of his trainers squeaking slightly against the stone floor, and strode as quickly as he could towards the doors to the Great Hall. Harry slowed down as he walked numbly to the Gryffindor table and slid onto the bench facing away from the Slytherin table. Hermione and Ron looked surprised that he hadn't joined them on their usual side, but he simply shook his head and concentrated on slow, deep breathing until his heart didn't feel like it was trying to run a marathon on its own. Finally, after a few moments, Harry opened his eyes and began to slowly readjust his place settings. Dinner plate ignored and a bowl half-filled with stew, goblet filled with pumpkin juice, and fork and knife settled onto the empty portion of the plate around the bowl sitting upon it. The warm beef and potatoes were more grounding than he'd expected, and Harry found that his stomach had returned to its usual position as he tried to tune into the conversation.

"-- Mum and Dad are attending the Annual World Dental Summit in Paris this year", Hermione was making a point to look at Harry, and he had a feeling she might have been talking to him a bit earlier than now. He nodded politely and wished he wasn't so horrible at remembering what the Grangers did for a living, "Er…Is that the conference that happens in the winter or summer?"

"Winter", she pushed her peas around on her plate with a little more force than he thought was necessary and seemed to be staring at them instead of - Harry glanced over the empty space between his two friends to Ron. The redhead shrugged at Harry and continued to focus on his mashed potatoes. They must've had a 'disagreement' about something to the point of silent treatment, but it wasn't serious enough for Hermione to be avoiding his freckled face by practically living in the library. Hermione brushed a curly strand of hair behind an ear and pushed on with only talking to Harry, even if her inflection left no room for error on who she was talking about to him, "It actually lines up with the start of break this year, so I'm afraid I won't be stopping by the Burrow for Christmas", she gave a particularly sharp jab at her peas, "Contrary to what _some people_ may think", jab, "I rather like visiting my own parents during the holidays and don't always want to spend time with _someone else's_ family -- "

"I was just letting you know that Mum invited you over for Christmas dinner", Ron grumbled at his mashed potatoes and moved them around his plate slowly. Harry glanced between the two of them, temporarily glad for something to focus on other than The Mistletoe Incident, even if it was playing the eggshell referee during dinner. Whatever disagreement had taken place, Ron must've felt guilty about what he said, Harry mused as he watched the one friend with a voracious appetite barely poke at his food. The only time a Weasley's food spent this much time on a plate was during times of extreme nerves - before a Quidditch game - or after certain fights when he wasn't angry at the person involved. Harry took a sip of his pumpkin juice and looked over at Hermione, who was glowering at the turkey on her plate. She cleared her throat slightly and ignored Ron's interjection, "I will be joining them in Paris during the conference, and we have it all planned out to visit one of the La Maison du Chocolat boutiques for some last minute Christmas shopping for some of our relatives."

"Bit ironic", Harry smiled and carefully kept his voice light, so Hermione didn't think he was seriously going after her parents' profession. She returned the smile and shrugged, "They like to say it helps to keep them in business, but we've been sending Aunt Lizabeth her chocolates for years now. It'd be more of a surprise if she didn't get her Orangettes, really."

Harry couldn't help but grimace at the idea of mixing orange and chocolate. Ron sent a confused sidelong glance in Hermione's direction, but he kept his opinion to himself. Hermione finished her bite of turkey before agreeing with the unspoken sentiment, "Strips of candied orange peels covered in a thin layer of dark chocolate. Sounds horrible, but Aunt Lizzy loves them. At least the Bouchée Gourmande Jolika doesn't sound half bad", she paused to glance up at Harry's blank expression, "Almond and pistachio paste covered in dark chocolate. It's like the bonbon's larger sibling."

Harry hummed and chewed a chunk of potato while failing to understand why these dark chocolates with strange fillings were good enough to go to Paris for. He shot a glance to Ron, who was staring intently at his roast beef, and then prompted Hermione to keep filling the silence before things got awkward, "Well, I hope these chocolates are worth it if you're taking time out of the conference to get them."

Hermione nodded while taking a sip of her own pumpkin juice, "It's the easiest time of the year to get my grandparents their anniversary gift, the Fine Champagne Cognac truffles. I'm not sure how the tradition started, but it's moved on to Dad to buy them", she paused to finish buttering her roll and took a bite before guiding the conversation she was steering back to winter break, "Did you know you can take an elevator to the first level of the Eiffel Tower and Paris' highest ice-skating rink?", she barely paused for Harry to shake his head, "I've heard it's quite lovely to see, but it's been ages since we've been ice-skating."

Harry nodded and let the conversation lapse. Each Gryffindor stuck to their own plate or bowl, and it ranked up there among the most awkward dinners the trio had sat through at Hogwarts. Harry nibbled at a treacle tart and pushed away the thought dancing along the edge of his attention that he would have to return to the Slytherin common room in order to get his bag. That was a direction that only led backwards to The Mistletoe Incident, and he was going to get through dinner before going back over that window of panic fueled decisions because the forthcoming embarrassment would be best experienced alone instead of in the middle of the Great Hall. Ron cleared his throat slightly after swallowing a mouthful of buttered roll and spoke to Harry, "Mum's got you sorted in my room over the break. Bill's stopping by with Fleur, and Lupin's taking Charlie's room because there's some sort of wing rot outbreak he has to oversee healing and can't make it back from Romania this Christmas."

"Er", Harry's mind stuttered on the overload of information for a brief moment, but he wound up nodding once everything clicked into place. He nodded again while giving a more intelligent reply, "Okay. Thanks, Ron."

Ron nodded while glancing over Harry's shoulder briefly, and he squinted slightly in the direction Harry knew with a surprising certainty Malfoy sat in at the Slytherin table. The redhead took a slow drink of pumpkin juice and lowered his voice, "You still going over to the Ferret's place on Christmas?"

"I don't have much of a choice", Harry's voice had lowered as well, and he fought the itching feeling to turn around and glance in the direction of the blond. Ron had seemed to understand the parameters of the proximity measure set out by the blood bond the week before, which meant that something was going on with Malfoy to prompt the question. Harry took a sip of his pumpkin juice and swallowed with a little more force than usual, "There was some mistletoe in the entranceway before dinner", he paused and both Hermione and Ron looked concerned for a moment. They knew he had a dislike, bordering on fear at times, when it came to the wintry decoration and its kissing custom because of overly enthusiastic fans. He jostled his shoulders slightly, unable to really motion behind him very well, "I didn't exactly explain things before walking in, so he's probably…not happy."

"That's an understatement", Hermione spoke under her breath and drank from her pumpkin juice at Harry's wide eyed stare. He turned his head to Ron, who shrugged slightly while buttering another roll. He motioned with the knife while sending brief glances over Harry's shoulder, "The Ferret hasn't spoken to anyone since he walked in, even though others at the table keep trying to engage him. He keeps glaring daggers at you, but it's like he's varying which dagger - a normal, angry glare and a look that could freeze the sun."

Harry exhaled softly and glanced down at his empty bowl. It wasn't all that surprising, really. He had been doing more feeling than speaking in the entranceway, and even with their questionable habits around keeping an eye on each other over the years, Malfoy didn't have a reason until this year - and barely two months ago in the term at that - to know about Harry's misfortunes with mistletoe. Thankfully, the Slytherin had never been witness to any of the incidents and avoidances in the previous years, but it certainly left a void where Harry had to be the one to explain if Malfoy could ever hope to understand. Hermione hummed in thought and added in a soft, thoughtful voice, "I can't say I know him very well, but he almost looks hurt. Do you know how the blood bond reacted to the mistletoe?"

Harry shook his head, and Ron scoffed, "Obviously, the bond's peachy", he glanced away from Hermione's icy stare and spoke a little gentler as he backtracked, "The bond might be making him feel some discomfort - I think it's similar to stomach cramps? - and well, if he walked in on you and a witch under some mistletoe, there's not much filling in he'd have to do to figure out why."

There was no way he could try to explain how Malfoy had actually been the one under the mistletoe and Harry had panicked, so Harry didn't bother correcting his friend while a twinge of something unfurled in his stomach that might have been nervousness. He swallowed and fiddled with the edge of his left sleeve's hem, wanting to self-sooth and touch the ring but very self-conscious about touching it given the present conversation. Harry glanced up at Ron apologetically, "Is that all Malfoy's experiencing? Some discomfort, I mean?"

Ron scraped his spoon across his already mashed potato free plate and looked very uncomfortable with the route the conversation had taken. He shrugged, winced at Hermione's sharp elbow jab, and cleared his throat. His face was still pale and freckly, but the top of his ears looked to be a little pinker than normal as he hemmed and hawed, "It's not like I'm an expert on blood bonds, alright? They're supposed to be part of a wedding ceremony, so they get properly seated between the two people. You're blood bond isn't settled yet, so I don't know if it behaves like a bond does in the first year of marriage. I _think_ Malfoy is only experiencing some stomach cramps while the fidelity measure goes all wonky and shit, but you'd have to ask him to know."

Harry made sure to tuck away more unexpected information about his blood bond that he didn't know and resolved to read the books Narcissa had recommended while visiting the manor over break. Dumbledore had probably run into issues with taking them out of the Black library, or maybe the house itself, and there was clearly a void of knowledge. He tried to sound nonchalant as he probed for a little more while the opportunity presented itself, "Does the fidelity alarm stop going off after a certain amount of time, or will I have to do something?", Harry coughed when Ron's eyes widened and he realized where his friend's mind had gone, "For fuck's sake, it was just mistletoe, Ron."

Ron took a large gulp of his pumpkin juice and shrugged, momentarily unable to speak after the apparently scary place his mind had gone. At Hermione's glare that looked to be rivaling Malfoy's daggers, he recovered enough of a voice to squeak, "I'm not sure", he cleared his throat and his voice dropped down into his normal register, "It's not like most married couples test the fidelity parameters", a quick glance to Harry's left hand, which was still glamoured ring free, "Spending time with him like with the Proximus sounds like it might work, but…", he motioned towards the Slytherin table, "Ferret looks like he might do Voldemort's job for him if you try to follow him out now."

Hermione shot him a sympathetic look as Harry slowly swung his legs over the bench and stood. He didn't dare look in the direction of the Slytherin table and risk seeing the murderous expression Pansy must be sending him. Ron had said that Malfoy hadn't talked to anyone during dinner and kept glaring at him, so there was little room for doubt that Harry was the cause of the silent fit. They'd all been walking in comfortable silence until those few moments in the entranceway after Pansy and Anthony had walked into the Great Hall. He slowly walked through the large doors and turned in the direction of the dungeons, keeping his pace slow enough that Malfoy wouldn't think he was chasing after him. Harry knew they would have to talk about this, but he honestly didn't want to start some sort of fight tonight when they still had Astronomy, the Geminids viewing party, and the initiation tomorrow. Could Harry have picked a worse time to hit a snag with Malfoy? He doubted it.

His suspicion was confirmed when the Gryffindor rounded the last corner to the entrance of the Slytherin's common room and found Carmen standing outside the archway with his bag. She looked a little wary, but the first year was clearly still in one piece. Harry bid her goodnight and hoped that it was a sign that Malfoy wasn't quite as angry as Ron had made him sound. He pushed open the flap of his bag and frowned at the strange organization. Someone had shifted things around while returning his small notebook with Astronomy colors, all of his Astronomy pencils were nestled into his rarely disturbed quill and ink pocket, and a small bronze coin was sitting prominently on his neatly folded winter cloak. Harry picked it up and instantly felt his stomach curdle with guilt at the glide of shiny tinfoil. Someone - it was unlikely to be Crabbe, Goyle, or either first year that had stayed behind on fire watch, which only left one person who had recently gone into the common room - had slipped one of the mint chocolate gelt knuts into his bag. He slid the knut into the inner pocket with his Astronomy pencils, quite sure that his stomach was twisting with too much guilt and nervousness for him to keep the chocolate down if he were to try to eat it now.

Harry walked away from the Slytherin common room as slowly as he had approached, simultaneously worrying about how Astronomy would go tonight and trying to not think about anything other than reviewing for the Geminids quiz. He ambled into the library and curled up in an overstuffed armchair of a possibly dark brown origin with pale gray patches of cloth sewn over holes. Supposedly, students were required to fix holes in cushions and chairs by hand if they were caught with a severe library infraction and assigned detention by Madam Pince, but no one the Gryffindor had known in his time at Hogwarts could provide an example of the elderly witch actually doing this. He readjusted in the comfortable cushioning and set his bag on the floor. There was nothing Harry could do until they met up and talked. He pulled out the thick deep purple text with silver stars and opened _Advanced Stargazing_ to the bookmarked page on Gemini, eyes flickering to the square pieces of parchment. He could try sending a note, but he'd already demonstrated that he could misunderstand tone in a purely written format. No, it would be easier to get the conversation over and done with in one go without misunderstanding each other across several notes. Harry turned his attention to the book across his lap and settled in to read, _The brightest star in Gemini is Pollux (β Gem, Beta Geminorum), while the second brightest is Castor (α Gem, Alpha Geminorum). It is believed that Johann Bayer, a German astronomer, assigned the Bayer designation opposite to the expected order of Alpha being brighter than Beta because Castor rises first in the east._

Submerged in the focus of reading, taking notes, and jotting down citations, Harry slid into an easy escape of homework over the next several hours, specifically plodding away at the large Transfiguration essay about the dangers of human transfiguration. He had opted for the more time intensive revision schedule being offered with this large of an assignment - outline due, a draft of each section (partial citations accepted), a whole draft (with an introduction, conclusion, and complete citations), and then a revision where Professor McGonagall's critique had to be factored into it. The route that Ron had opted for did not include drafts of each section so he simply had an outline, first draft, and a revision. Smaller chunks of drafts were due more frequently for Harry, which could either help him stay on top of the essay or lead to an automatically lower first grade from docked points for late section drafts, but the revision at the end was mandatory for anyone who did not receive an Outstanding either way. Ron had refused to listen to Hermione's defense of the option she and Harry had chosen because he didn't really care about the long-term benefits of doing more work now when he could get to it later (after “alone time” with Lavender). Harry hadn't found himself really wanting to do better than Ron on a paper before, but in this particular case, when he came face to face with the evidence of what Ron preferred to do rather than write the essay (in the Gryffindor common room, frequently), Harry was experiencing a first. He wasn't trying to outdo Hermione by getting a higher mark of Outstanding on the first try or anything rash, but still, a higher first grade than his friend didn't seem like too much to ask the homework gods for. As a nearby grandfather clock chimed ten, Harry stood and stretched before packing his bag up, donning his winter cloak, and setting off for the Astronomy Tower.

He was going to talk to Malfoy before class started while they were setting up their telescopes and amplificos. It wasn't an uncommon occurrence these days, and Harry thought that maybe they could get a good way through talking about the inevitable in the majority of the hour before the start of class. He donned his scarf with its bright Gryffindor colors and his gloves with a Warming Charm on them when there was only a long staircase leading up into the proper tower itself left to walk. Harry grumbled at the cold that seemed to bite deep into his bones with every step he took and cast additional Warming Charms on his jeans and shoes before he was halfway to the door. He wound up arriving with one of the seventh year students, who seemed to powerwalk up the stairs unnaturally fast, and then there was no way to talk to the student next to him setting up his own telescope and amplifico without being overheard by the other seventh years. Of course, everyone would arrive early to the last class. Harry found himself staring at Malfoy's tie without really thinking about it or meaning to, but there was no way to telepathically transfer what he wanted to say via the green and silver stripes. They were arranged into a different knot than before, and briefly, he wondered if Malfoy had a reason for tying their unremarkable seeming school ties into such complicated knots. Perhaps the Slytherin had been working out tension, or perhaps he had no other outlet for the knowledge of the asymmetrical knot with layers and an overlapping crosswise section that caught Harry's attention. Fucking show off. Although as the coordinating green and silvery-white scarf settled into place, the Gryffindor realized he might be taking out latent irritation on the innocent pieces of clothing because his plan had been nullified.

It would help if Malfoy said something. Even a hello would settle Harry's nerves, but he shifted his weight from one foot to another while waiting in the open air enchanted a few degrees warmer. The students were casting and recasting Warming Charms when Professor Sinistra appeared in the doorway with thick earmuffs and a winter cloak that matched the color of pale blue Astronomy ink. She nodded to the assembled class and waved her wand at the doorway for a cluster of rolled up scrolls to float to each to the students while speaking in a voice that cut through the chilled air, "We will start with a quiz over Gemini and the associated Geminids meteor shower that you may place in the basket near the door once completed. You may move onto a free class for you to work on your winter constellation star charts after turning in the quiz, and I strongly encourage you all to use your time wisely in our last class before break. By the time we come back, a few of the southern constellations will be harder to find this early at night", she glanced at Harry and Malfoy briefly, "And finally, tonight after class is our last extra credit meteor shower viewing party for the Geminids. Attendance is optional, and if you do not stay for it, I would like to wish you all a rejuvenating break with our dear friend, Dark Energy. You may begin your quizzes."

When Harry turned in his scroll, he was sure of two things. One, the questions seemed so easy because he had either prepared brilliantly ahead of time or somehow bombed the quiz. He wouldn't find out until after Professor Sinistra graded the scrolls, and he rather hoped she wouldn't do so tonight during the meteor shower viewing party when it would be embarrassing to learn of his failure alongside one of the top students in the class. Two, Harry was extremely certain that the gnawing anxious feeling in the pit of his stomach would loosen up some if Malfoy would just acknowledge his existence. They weren't even five feet apart, and the blond refused to glance in his direction, make any sort of noise towards him, or even nod. If a hello was too much, surely a nod could suffice? It sounded bizarre and a bit pitiful, but Harry would prefer if Malfoy were properly angry with heat and passion instead of this icy void that was trying to rival the night air for being chilled. He readjusted his amplifico and tried to force his attention towards the star chart he was hoping to complete during the rest of the class - Monoceros, The Unicorn. While Harry hadn't known it at the time of choosing this as his winter constellation last time, it seemed fitting that the Christmas Tree Cluster and Snowflake Cluster were both deep sky objects he would have to draw and label tonight. The rest of the hour seemed to inch forward, and then suddenly, the rest of the students were walking down the spiral staircase stiffly from the cold and Professor Sinistra was setting up the reclining armchairs with Warming Charms for the meteor shower. Malfoy flicked a Muffliato at the threshold of the Tower before sitting down and announcing to the stars above him in an icy tone Harry wasn't surprised to hear, "Don't force yourself to be around me on my account. We've satisfied the bond if you're eager to leave."

Professor Sinistra gathered up the basket of quiz scrolls and settled into the armchair to the right of Malfoy, dead in the middle, and she didn't seem bothered by Harry plopping down to her right and sighing, "Okay, so I know I didn't explain, and I can see why you might be angry -- "

"Why would I possibly be angry that you used a Dark spell in the entranceway to the Great Hall, which is one of the most public places in the entire castle -- ", Malfoy's chilled sarcasm was cut off by his professor and a fellow Llwydnos, who had paused in unrolling a quiz to grade and turned her attention to the Gryffindor with a small amount of surprise, "Harry? Did you use Dark magic publicly?"

He grimaced and turned to look at the night sky above him, "I panicked, and it was more instinctive than intentionally wanting to do magic publicly."

"He's faced down a _Hungarian Horntail_ -", Harry was briefly surprised that Malfoy remembered which dragon he faced in the Triwizard Tournament but regained his senses at the sarcasm, "- but apparently, a sprig of mistletoe is too much for Potter."

Harry grumbled in the direction of Castor and Pollux, "Packs of girls hover, and I can't use the invisibility cloak all the time, and I just don't exactly have a positive history with it."

"We were the only students in the entranceway", Malfoy's chilly tone seemed to drop a few more degrees, but Professor Sinistra chimed in while making a note on the quiz scroll she was grading, "At least no one saw you use Dark magic then. Really, Harry, you need to be careful because this is not how we want news of your studies getting out to the rest of the student body."

"I know, I just", Harry blinked as a meteor flashed across the sky and tried to put words to the briefly overwhelming panic, "It felt like I was trapped by the mistletoe's proximity charm, and I had to get away."

"Trapped by a proximity charm and you just had to get away, you say?"

Fuck. Of course the prat would tie this back to the blood bond. The Gryffindor folded his arms over his chest and refused to take the bait with a slightly irritated sigh, "That's not what I mean, and you know that, Malfoy."

"Forgive me if you sprinting away conveyed a different message."

Well, he couldn't say he didn't see that one coming. Though Harry was quite sure he didn't literally sprint away, arguing technicalities was not the point here. He shifted and fiddled slightly with the lay of his winter cloak while his volume dropped, "I didn't want the mistletoe to force me to kiss you."

A heartbeat of silence. Harry took a deep breath and dared to turn his head slightly in order to glance to his left. Professor Sinistra was finishing up a scroll that was covered with little glimmering red notes, and he had to push away the concern that it was his quiz being graded. Malfoy's pale face was visible in the dim lighting of the Astronomy Tower, but with the reduced number of floating globes with red flames after class, Harry had no idea what his face was doing exactly. Maybe a conversation like this wasn't a good idea without better lighting conditions, but he had to explain himself in the tense silence, "There's no other way to end the Proximus without a kiss, so it is a bit forceful, and", Harry's voice petered out into a whisper, "I didn't want someone to walk in and see it happening."

The faint scratch of Professor Sinistra's quill broke the silence, and Harry really wished that Malfoy would say something. Yes, this was incredibly embarrassing, but it was starting to feel more like a confessional of some sort than a conversation. When he finally did speak, Malfoy's cold tone sounded tired and strained, "You better start mentally preparing yourself _now_ because there's no way to end _this_ proximity charm without suffering through a public kiss."

"That's not -- You know I -- ", Harry sighed in the direction of the stars and closed his eyes long enough to collect his thoughts. Goddammit, why did everything have to lead back to the blood bond? Just because there was going to be a wedding in a few years - wait, suffer? That was an awfully strong word for the embarrassment that was going to be involved for both of them. Unless, Harry opened his eyes to peek at Gemini, it was possible this wasn't quite as embarrassing for the other boy. He'd grown up with a father with a wife _and_ a husband instead of the Dursleys after all. Which would make Harry's uneasiness seem much more personal than he'd intended. Harry sighed at the realization, "Fine. _Fine_. I'm sorry, alright? I should've explained things before leaving, but short of a Time-Turner, I can't change that now."

"Draco?", Professor Sinistra's voice had a slightly parental sharpness to it, and Harry shivered at the thought of a mini Sinistra raising hell in some Astronomy lab at home. Perhaps it was just easier for teachers to scold the blond, or being Gwyllon had some sort of effect on him. Malfoy sighed and seemed to answer against his will in a deep grumble that sounded like the phrase was rote, "I acknowledge your offer of apology, Potter."

Harry wasn't sure if he was supposed to respond, or how to go about doing so, but their professor sniffed while scratching out a long answer that was incorrect and prompted, "But?"

Malfoy's voice had dropped into a whisper, but Harry couldn't tell if he was embarrassed or not without being able to see what his face was doing, "The idea of being seen kissing me, regardless of how, by another person was more terrifying than the risk of being seen by a Hel performing Dark magic."

The Gryffindor couldn't help but wince. Okay, when Malfoy put it like that, using Dark magic to destroy mistletoe did seem personal and perhaps like overkill. The fallout from a Hel witnessing The Chosen One performing Dark magic in Hogwarts would probably be worse than a student just seeing two sort of former rivals kiss under some stupid mistletoe, which the students would know couldn't be escaped by other means. The rift between the Tawch and the Helion was deep and wide enough that it posed more of a threat, especially when the Hels got around to asking how Harry had learned this branch of magic. Malfoy didn't wait for some sort of excuse or rebuttal and continued in a whisper that sounded much more vulnerable than expected, "It's one thing to have a good laugh and agree to destroy the mistletoe, but you had this look from my ancestors' memories and you were terrified. Of me. And so desperate to get away that you'd do anything. It was like I was the village witch about to get burned by a neighbor I thought I could trust."

A pause hung in the cold air as Harry watched a meteor streak across the sky. He thought back to Ouroboros as the fire-grass snake and the uncomfortable seed that somehow got planted. Ophiuchus - one of the summer constellations that they would have to complete over their break - The Serpent-Bearer. A faint hissing reminder that _they will be there to hold your emotions because they care_ and all that about Harry being given the chance to see all of the seeds planted, but he would have to nourish them before counting them in the harvest. It was possible, and not entirely unjustified, for Malfoy to kill him if he fucked this moment up because it was a chance for the Gryffindor to retreat back into a full-blown rivalry that would make the next few years an uncomfortable struggle. Harry sighed quietly, "Okay."

"Okay?", Malfoy sounded incredulous, and Harry couldn't really blame him. Lots of thinking and mulling things over in the starlight, and not a lot of verbal communication. He took a deep breath and prayed that Ouroboros wouldn't have lied about something like this, "I acted like a real arse, and I've already admitted that I didn't think it through because I was too panicked. I'm sorry I hurt your feelings, 'k?"

Harry wasn't entirely sure if Malfoy was silent because he was shocked that his former rival apologized, embarrassed that Harry had correctly guessed there was something emotions based going on, or a puzzling yet related third option. Not that Harry could blame the other boy for being blindsided by the acknowledgement that a Malfoy had feelings. They'd spared for years with an eye out for weaknesses and emotional vulnerabilities, but witnessing Ron and Hermione's disagreements had to impart some sort of lesson that not acknowledging the other's underlying feelings could prologue an argument for at least a week. Professor Sinistra quietly continued to grade her scrolls of quizzes and Harry saw two more meteors before the blond muttered, "You should get some sleep, Potter. You have a big day tomorrow."

Professor Sinistra nodded in the dim night vision lighting, "Your Snake Bone Rite with the Time-Keeper. On behalf of the Tawch, I would like to extend our traditional good luck phrase - Efallai y bydd y cysgodion cuddio chi, or may the shadows conceal you. I'm sure you'll do fine, Harry."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **_Nec dextrorsum, nec sinistrorsum_** : "Neither to the right, nor to the left. (Do not get distracted.)"
> 
> Shabbos: Yiddish for Shabbat. Lukas Smith is presented here as more Orthodox, in a manner of speaking. I'd bet that most Orthodox Jewish wixen would attend Hebrew schools and yeshiva universities of a magical persuasion, so that their magical schooling is still framed within Judaism, the academic calendar is set up for observing their holidays, they don't have to worry about non-kosher food and kitchen areas, etc.
> 
> I remembered reading somewhere that the actor who plays Lucius is ethnically Jewish, so I sort of took inspiration from that for a not-quite patrilineal connection for Draco. Initially, I considered it, but I didn't think it would be appropriate with Draco's use of blood magic, which is how the substitute idea came about that I mentioned in the notes on Ch 19. A somewhat removed branch of the Malfoy family may have continued to be Jewish, but whoever was the one who was directly patrilineal opted for joining the substitute system. This does not mean that there are no patrilineal Jewish wixen, btw; I am not trying to write them out of this HP Universe. It's more that when it comes to Draco, there's enough knowledge to almost-belong but technically not. In a relaxed environment with friends, relatives, and fellow Slytherins, it's not the end of the world that he's present and participating, but when around those from a different movement who have stricter participation standards, it's a reminder of not counting. (I'm not entirely sure I explained that adequately enough, but I am rather sure I'm just going in circles.)
> 
> Mahoutokoro is the Japanese Wizarding school mentioned in online sources. Personally, I tend to err on the side of a larger Wizarding world than I think JKR does, so I would ideally have more Wizarding schools. However, I'm not sure that this fic is where I'd want to get into all that world building / expansion around international Wizarding communities.
> 
> Pretty sure Draco’s knot that’s described but not named is the **Eric Glennie Braided Knot** (at [bottom](http://www.shirtsmyway.com/articles/different-ways-how-to-tie-a-tie-knots.php)). So, I didn't make up La Maison du Chocolat, but I didn't exactly keep track of links; [go wild](https://www.lamaisonduchocolat.fr/fr/), fam.

**Author's Note:**

> Brythonic Words / Phrases
>     Ch 3 
> 
>   * Llwydnos [sh oy d - nahs]: "dusk", a Dark-sider
>   * Gwyllon [goy ish ahn]: "twilights", more than one Dark-sider
>   * Tawch [t ow k, 'ow' as in owl]: "fog / mist", the overall Dark community
> 
Ch 6 
>   * Dymunaf ar gyfer y machlud haul heno: "I wish for the sunset tonight", hello
>   * Rwy'n oedi'r wawr: "I delay the dawn", goodbye
>   * Dychwelaf cysgodion i'r noson: "I return shadows to the night", recaning phrase
> 
Ch 20 
>   * Efallai y bydd y cysgodion cuddio chi: "May the shadows conceal you", good luck
>   * Celyn ac drwy: “Holly and wren”. Used as a greeting on Alban Arthan (winter solstice) and a farewell on Alban Hefin (summer solstice).
> 
Ch 21 
>   * Derw ac robin Goch: “Oak and robin”. Used as a greeting on Alban Hefin and farewell on Alban Arthan.
>   * Priod: "Spouse".
> 

> Brythonic Spells
>     Ch 8 
> 
>   * Prifio: Growth
> 
Ch 11 
>   * Creisioni: Burn
>   * Brwd: Boil
>   * Rhwygo: Tear (rend)
> 
Ch 14 
>   * Caer: Wall (defensive rampart)
> 

> Other Spells Created For This Fic
>      Latin 
> 
>   * [Ch 5] _**Subluceo**_ \- “I glimmer”, turns ink or graphite to glow-in-the-dark versions of itself (black ink or normal graphite in a pencil defaults to a pastel blue).  
>  Note: “Subluceo [color]” will specify the color (first appears in Ch 7), and “Subluceo [color] pallesco” will make the color a paler shade (Ch 22).
>   * [Ch 7] _**Ad libera nuntium**_ \- “To deliver the message”, sends a folded note off to find the recipient where it will unfold at their touch.
>   * [Ch 19] _**Tendo**_ \- “I stretch”, specifically used here to stretch paper.
>   * [Ch 19] _**Tempus Mora**_ \- “Time delay”, used to delay a note unfolding to be read until a certain time.
>   * [Ch 20] _**Torreo**_ \- “I toast”, a low level heating charm in cooking, particularly common for toasting.
>   * [Ch 22] _**Caleo**_ \- “I am warm / hot / glow”, a Warming Charm used on items going on caster's person.
> 
Subluceo Colors 
>   * [Ch 7] Virens - (pastel) green.
>   * [Ch 8] Viola - (pastel) purple.
>   * [Ch 19] Caeruleus - dark blue.
>   * [Ch 21] Several colors related to recreating the Alban Arthan card:
>   * \-- Argillaceous - White clay (a bit duller than a bright white without looking noticeably off-white).
>   * \-- Brunneus - A 'pure' dull brown.
>   * \-- Griseus - Pearl gray (a pale shade).
>   * \-- Phoeniceous - Used here for a 'pure red' that will brighten and glimmer with the spell.
>   * \-- Orobitinus - Vetch green (vetch is a plant; this green is a bit toned down from the vibrant deep hint of grass without being noticeably pale).
>   * \-- Fumeus - Smoky brown gray.
> 
Greek 
>   * Won't appear until over the break.
> 



End file.
